Iris
by AriannaKing
Summary: When the Cullens meet a strange halfbreed while hunting, they are intrigued by her unique talent. They take her in. As she grows close to them her past begins to unravel. While visiting Forks she goes through heartbreak, and gets snatched by her past
1. Chapter 1

IRIS

Intro

I took a breath and I could smell elk north from where I was. My throat burned when I smelt the thick blood running through their vanes. I ran hard, wanting to put an end to the pain. I got close so that I could pounce on the unknowing animals. I jumped into the air, landing right in front of a full grown male elk.

I could see the surprise and alertness in his eyes. I looked away and reached my hands out as I broke his neck, putting him out of his misery. I went to his neck and sunk my teeth in, letting his hot moist blood soothe my burning throat. When I had drained him I felt much stronger.

I turned away from him and froze. I looked at the pale figures in front of me. My heart sped faster, I screamed as the largest one lunged at me. "Emmett, her eyes!" an angelic one screamed.

The large one, Emmett I assumed, stopped in front of me and looked at me threateningly. I coward away and wanted to thank the angelic one for saving me, so I did. I had a talent, sending thoughts and emotions. His eyebrows pulled together, he was confused.

The group was a clan of full vampires, if something went wrong I didn't stand a chance. I attempted to send fear to them, if they were afraid they would let me go. I turned and ran, I didn't get very far, two sets of hands grabbed my arms, stopping me. They turned me back to the group.

I tried again to send fear to the group. "Stop that."

The blonde curly haired man that was holding my right hand yelled at me. I was confused, how could they tell what I was doing. They must have a talent. I tensed as the angelic man walked over to me.

"If they let go, will you stay so I can talk to you?" he had a calming voice.

I was hesitant, but they didn't seem to be a threat, at least the man in front of me didn't. I nodded but one of them protested, "Carlisle, she's a threat."

The blonde, nice one said, "She as a heart beat. You saw the way she acted kindly to the elk, she is one girl. How is she a threat?" and with that I felt the grip loosen from around me. I stood up and looked the man in the eyes. "I'm Carlisle, this is my family." he pointed to the people behind him.

I looked to the people behind him. There were seven of them, I knew the largest was Emmett, he was standing next to a blonde woman who looked very intimidating. Next two them were the other two woman, one with brown curly hair, the other had strait reddish brownish hair, she looked like the eldest woman, she also looked like the sweetest.

I remembered the other two behind me, and sent a thought to Carlisle, _Who are they?_

He laughed, "Edward and Jasper, they wont hurt you, none of us will. You are safe." I nodded, but the two behind me still glared, as did most of the family.

The eldest looking woman came to me with a smile. "I'm Esme, what's your name?"

I thought back to my first memory I had, it was of my mother before she died, "Dylann Aleise Withers." I told Esme.

"Well Dylann, would you like to stay with us tonight?" she asked me.

I shook me head, "No thank you, I- I have a place of my own." it was a weak lie. I honestly wanted to stay with Esme and Carlisle, but I could tell my answer was what the rest of the family wanted to hear.

"Oh come on, just for the night, you can get washed up, we can give you some clean clothes and some money and you can be on your way." Carlisle nodded, these were very compassionate people. I didn't want to impose on them, and then leave the next morning with their clothes and money.

"Thank you for the offer, it's very nice. But I think its best if I just go my own way." I pushed people away, if you get close to someone you will just loose them. Plus the last coven I was in seemed nice too, until they took me to their home, if you can call it a home.

"Please Dylann, just a night, you can stay in Carlisle's office, it has a nice couch. My daughter Alice, she has lots of clothes, she would love to give you some. And we have another like you at our house, my grand-daughter Renesmee would love to meet you." Why was she trying so hard?

I heard a growl from behind me, I looked at Edward and saw it was all he could do not to tackle me then and there. His eyes were dark with thirst and the phrase _if looks could kill _passed through my mind.

I looked up to Esme and Carlisle, _Thank you very much for the offer, you are both very gracious and nice, but I don't think the rest of the family feels the same way you do about me._

"She's right!" Edward growled behind me. I hadn't sent the thought to him, mind reader maybe? There had been one of those at the old coven. His talent had been a bit different, his name was Aro.

Edward stopped, "Is that why- Are you running from the Volturi?"

I turned to him, "Not exactly, I'm not running from them, they think I've been…destroyed." I shut my mouth and cut off my thoughts, they didn't need to know more than that.

"Destroyed?" Carlisle asked me.

"Yes, they…_expose_ of the uncooperative half breeds." I told him calmly. Maybe I should be a little more traumatized, but even after everything I saw and experienced I wasn't.

"Will you come home with us, we can discuss this further?" Carlisle asked.

"I-I can't, I've already said way too much. It isn't any of your concern. I've been told the coven's were destroyed." I reassured them. I went back to the coven a month ago and saw it for myself, the vampire's and houses were gone, disposed of I assumed.

"Your sure?" Edward asked me.

I nodded, "I've seen it myself. I assume the rest of the Volturi realized what was going on and decided to put an end to it."

"Alright, but why haven't we heard anything about this?" Edward asked me.

"I'm not sure, but I guess it's because the Volturi doesn't want people to know that Aro started the covens. I mean, do you think the Volturi would advertise the fact that they started four experimental covens of half breeds? They don't want people knowing that some of the Volturi is beginning to have troubles within itself. The Romanians would attempt to over throw them, knowing they are weak." I felt like he was doubting, not that I needed him to believe me, but it still made me angry.

"How old are you?" Esme asked.

"I'm seventeen." I told her. She looked at me with sad eyes.

"I see, well your more than welcome to stop at our house whenever you need to. We can give you anything you need, are you sure you can't just stay a night?"

"Please stay, I would really like to talk to you. You can leave when you'd like." Carlisle begged of me.

I sighed, "I guess I can stay for the night."

Chapter One

I went with the Cullen's while they finished their hunting. I mostly stayed with Carlisle and Esme, who I felt comfortable with. When they were done we ran to their large house outside Rochester, New York. The rest ran ahead of us into the house. Carlisle stopped me outside the door sending Esme inside.

"Alice and Renesmee are the two most… _eccentric _members of my family. They will probably greet you with hugs and welcoming words, which will probably upset the rest of the family. Also, my grand-daughter Renesmee, she is eighteen, has been imprinted on by a shape shifter, he shifts into a wolf, his name is Jacob Black. He's very moody and aggressive, but don't be afraid." like I was afraid of a dog?

Carlisle continued, "Esme and I will be near you the whole time. If you need to voice anything personal just let us know through your thoughts. Just know if that's how you choose to communicate, my son Edward can read thoughts. And you might not want to do that to everyone else, it might frighten them a bit. And I would like you to not speak of your past with the others, especially your life in the covens."

I nodded as he spoke, I wasn't sure what to expect. He opened the big door, and I followed him into the living room. My adrenaline was pumping, I felt as though there was an extreme threat near me. There was a whole group of people talking, about me by the way, but it all stopped as I entered. I smiled as to reassure them that I meant no harm. One of the girls I hadn't met in the forest started to come to me until a tall russet man put his arms around her.

I noted the man was Jacob and the girl was Renesmee. Renesmee was about my height, maybe a bit shorter, she had red- brown hair that flowed down her back. Her brown eyes smiled a welcome to me.

I noticed that beside the color of our hair and eyes we looked relatively alike, the way our hair curled was the same, with different lengths, and she had full bangs across her forehead. I had bright turquoise eyes with a dark green rim around them also golden blonde hair. Our size was within inches of each other, I assumed I was 5"3, she was probably 5"2. I could tell she saw it too as she looked me up and down. I sent her a thought, _Crazy, huh?_

Her eyebrows pulled together, I forgot I wasn't supposed to do that. "You can send thoughts?" I nodded and she jumped up and down, "That's so cool, so can I! But I have to be touching the person to do it."

"Wow, I've never met anyone with the same talent." She tried again to come to me but Jacob tightened his grip.

Just then a small, shorter than us, girl hopped over to me. She was merely stopped by Jasper, but she was faster than him. She wrapped me in a hug and then pulled away, "I'm Alice, I can see the future, but I couldn't see you coming because I can't see half breeds or shape shifters."

She talked so fast that I was sure if I was full human I wouldn't be able to understand her, "Hi, I'm Dylann."

She smiled at me and I realized that despite the ones who didn't like me being here, I was still glad I came. It had been along time since I had any interaction, let alone some nice interaction. And I'll bet these four kind strangers didn't even know they were making my day.

Plus, having some kind smiles amongst the frowns wasn't so bad. It felt good to know that I was welcomed, I might even just stay the night. I looked to the sour looks and just gave them my sweetest smile, I didn't try to make them feel love for me.

I knew Edward would just realize I was doing it, I guess that other one, Jasper would know too, though I wasn't really sure how. Also, I didn't want these people to only like me because I was making them.

"Let me introduce you to everyone." Alice chirped up. She went down the line starting with the ones I already knew, "This is my husband Jasper, my brother Edward, my sister Bella, her and Edward are married, this is their daughter Nessie, her werewolf Jacob. This is Emmett, his wife, my sister Rosalie. They may all seem a bit harsh now, but they'll lighten up, don't worry!"

She was very over whelming, I could tell she meant well, though. The others loosened a bit at that, maybe she was right. "Right, well," Esme came behind me and grabbed my shoulders, "I think Alice, Nessie and I will go get Dylann cleaned up."

Jacob growled, "Nessie's staying here, with me."

Nessie squirmed and got away from him, "I'm fine Jake, I'll be right upstairs."

She kissed his hand and followed the others and I up the spiral stairs. They took me down a hall with many doors, each had a set of a names, but I didn't see Edward, Bella, or Nessie's room. Alice opened the door to her room and went to the closet. She gestured for me to follow her in, so I did.

I felt my jaw drop as I looked at the racks and shelves full of clothes. I spun around to look at it all. "What do you want to wear?" Alice asked.

"I-I don't even know, just anything is fine." She laughed and looked around the closet.

"Oh, I know, I know." Renesmee went over to a shelf full of red clothing. She walked over to me with red tank top that had ruffles down the middle and white skinny jeans.

"It's awesome!" Alice yelled, "She can wear it tomorrow, but its already 8:00, lets just find her some comfy pajamas." I felt like they were talking like I wasn't right in front of them. I didn't really mind though, it would be nice to be clean and comfortable.

"You're right, wait here, I'll be right back." she told me. Where else was I going to go? She left the room, but was back almost instantly. "Here," She handed me some soft clothes, "These are like my favorite pajamas, but you can wear them."

I held them out, it was a long white jersey that had blue letters. It had two large numbers on the front, 09. On the back it had her name. the shorts were short, navy blue, and extremely soft.

"Thank you. Can I use your shower?" I hadn't showered in three days since I stayed at the hotel in Albany.

"Sure, you can use mine." Nessie smiled at me, it was like I was looking in a mirror that had the wrong colors. I smiled back.

"You two look crazy alike." Alice had a strange look on her face, I think she was weirded out, I know I was. "Oh, Nessie, she'll need… undergarments."

"Oh yeah, follow me Dylann, we'll get you cleaned up, you can stay in my room tonight." She went out the hall, I followed close behind. She went to the end of the hall, there was a door that read _Nessie's Room _at the end. She opened it and I followed her.

"Why don't your parents have a room here?" I asked, curious.

"Well, my parents and I live in a separate little cottage, but I still have a smaller room here, for if they go out of town, or if they need alone time." she made a face and handed me a bra and underwear.

"Are you all set? My bathrooms right through there." She pointed to another door in the room that was pink, it said _Powder Room_. "I'll be in Alice's room when you're done. Help yourself to anything you need."

I nodded and went to the small pink room, closing the door behind me. I walked to the full length mirror and grimaced. I looked horrible, no wonder the family looked frightened at me, I looked like a wild animal.

I took my clothes off and walked over to the shower. I turned the knob so the water was steaming hot. It felt good as I washed away all the dirt with Nessie's apricot scrub. I also found a razor and shaved, I definitely needed it. When I was done and clean I decided I could use a good soak. I put the plug in and let the tub fill with water.

I sat down and the water surrounded me. I set my head back and closed my eyes. I smiled, I was so content I could have stayed right there forever. I was so stressed, but the hot water melted it all away.

I soaked for at least twenty minutes, until the water lost its heat. Plus I thought it might be rude to sit here all night, so I got up and grabbed a big pink towel off of a rack near by. I stepped onto the cold floor and dried off. I got dressed, the clothes fit perfect.

How weird that of all the covens I could run into I ran into the Cullen's. the kind vampires that had Nessie, the half-vampire that looked almost exactly like me. I laughed aloud as I used a brush to run through my knotted hair. I put in some apricot scented hair cream and fingered it through my long blonde hair.

I assumed that Nessie liked the smell of apricots. I smiled at the mirror when I was done, "That's better." I said aloud.

Once I was clean I realized how much Nessie and I looked alike, she was practically my twin. I grabbed my towel and dirty t-shirt and jean shorts. Opening the door I was greeted by the dog. He was looking at me with questioning eyes. "Yes?"

"Can I trust you?" I was confused, what was that question supposed to mean?

"I-I don't know, what do you mean?" what kind of question was that. I wasn't sure what exactly to say to him.

"If you're going to be staying here I need to know you want hurt anyone, especially Nessie."

"Look, even if I could get away with hurting any one here, which I couldn't, I would never hurt anyone here." Why would I hurt them? They had taken me in kindly.

He nodded and left the room. That was a bit weird, I shook my head and set my dirty clothes in a corner of the room and walked to Alice's room. When I entered I saw Emmett and Bella sitting on Alice's bed. "Hey Dylann." Bella said.

"Hi." This night was getting weirder and weirder.

"Did you have a good shower?" She asked me.

"Yeah" I turned to Nessie, "You like apricots, I guess?" She nodded and we laughed.

"Well, we wanted to apologize for being so…cold, to you." Bella said, I could tell she meant it.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for almost killing you." Emmett smiled big at me. "You just kind of freaked us all out."

I laughed, "It's alright, and thanks for not…killing me." We all laughed.

"We all trust you, but Edward, Jacob, Rosalie, and Jasper, well, their all kind of weary of you still. We tried convincing them you're okay, but they won't take our word for it." Bella started, "You should know that Edward and Jacob will be keeping an eye on you tonight, while you sleep. It's kind of weird ,but they mean well. We also wanted to let you know that if you wanted to stay with us, that would be okay."

I smiled and nodded, "Thank you, but I don't really like to stay in the same place for two long. It's not anything personal, I'm just kind of independent."

"Well, if you change your mind ever, just know you're welcome to stay with us." Alice told me.

Maybe I wanted to stay, I wasn't sure. It was nice to be a part of this family. "We're going to go to bed, we'll take you to Carlisle's office." Emmett gestured for us to leave.

I nodded, "Alright."

I followed everyone to a small room on the third floor of the house. It had a long brown leather couch that looked really comfortable. Emmett and Bella left to go meet their mates after saying goodnight. Alice and Renesmee gave me a pillow and blanket. "Thanks."

"No problem." Alice smiled, giving me a hug. "Good night."

I nodded and turned to Renesmee, I gave her a hug, "Thanks to both of you, for everything."

They left and I turned out the lights and crawled onto the couch. I heard a knock on the door and sat up, "Come in."

Edward and Jake entered and sat on the chairs by the desk. They didn't say a word to me, just sat there. How was I supposed to sleep like this? "Can I ask you guys a question?"

Neither of them said anything so I just went on, "Why are you two, and that blonde one too, why are you all so reluctant to accept me?"

Jacob laughed, but it wasn't with joy, he thought I was stupid, "I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth."

"What have I done to have you feel that way about me?" The only thing I've said to him was he could trust me.

"Well you can read my mind, what could I possibly be hiding with you around?" I thought I had a good point.

"You're background story is very questionable." Edward told me harshly, "You kept your mind off the subject, like you're doing now."

I was quiet for a moment, he was right, I protected my inner thoughts very well. "That's only because I don't like thinking about it, not everyone has had such a smooth past."

"What makes you think we have smooth pasts?" Jacob asked.

"Well, not everyone has someone to love, let alone a whole family. Everyone I've ever cared for, I've lost."

"That's because you push them away." Edward was picking through my brain.

"Sometimes," I started, "but I never learned how to care for someone, because if you made a connection with someone in my old coven you found yourself risking everything for them. That was too risky, you had to watch for yourself, not anyone else. And it was hard, I made a connection every now and then, but it never turned out well."

I shut my mind there, he didn't need to know everything, "It was too much pain if you let someone down, which was easy to do."

He gasped when I let my mind roam back to the days when I was in the coven. He saw what I meant when I said 'let down'. I meant when you let someone die, you couldn't always save everyone. "What were the covens made for?" he asked.

"They liked to test half-breeds, see how different we actually were from full vampires and full humans. They liked to push our breaking points, see what we could take before we…"

"We have to tell people this." Edward hissed.

"No, trust me. It's better we don't, its over, and if we tell anybody it will get around to the Romanians. We cant have them over through the Volturi, they're 10 times worse and cruel."

"You have a point, but what if it was never stopped, what if they just moved the covens."

"As cold as this sounds, even if there are more, its better to just stay out of it. It's the Volturi we're talking about, we can't do anything to help them."

He looked at me like I was insane, "How can you say that when innocent half-breeds are being treated like animals?" Jacob yelled at me.

"Hey! You don't know what it was like for me! I would do anything to save them, but trust me, there is _nothing_ we could do that would help them. The moment the Volturi found out we knew they would destroy everything and everyone in the covens. The only way you could help them is making the Volturi see that what they are doing is wrong. Which is impossible, they've seen everything and it doesn't bother them one bit." How could they say it doesn't bother me? They haven't seen shit compared to me.

"I've seen some hard stuff, imagine watching the one you love almost die over and over again because of you."

"I have seen that, that's exactly why I don't make connections. Do you remember what it was like watching your wife almost die giving birth to Renesmee? Well imagine seeing that 10 times a day, except these woman had no choice, and they didn't get a happy ending."

They were both quiet, "I'm going to sleep." I turned over and shut my eyes. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd slept. I was out with in minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

_I woke up from the sun in my eyes and sat up to stretch. I looked back to where Edward and Jacob had been, sure enough they still sat there. Jacob was sleeping, and Edward was staring at me. "Hi."_

_He nodded toward my direction, not saying a word in response. I sighed and got off the couch, heading for the door. As I exited to the hall I felt Edward follow me to their bathroom._

_I stopped at the door, "You coming in?" Of course I was joking._

_He glared at me, "I'll wait here."_

_I stepped in, this felt like prison. Why was I being watched so closely? Couldn't he read my thoughts? He would realize I was going to do anything before I could execute the plan. Not that I would ever do anything._

_When I was done in the bathroom I opened the door and found Edward standing right in front of me. He stepped aside so I could pass. He followed right behind me all the way down stairs. _

_Renesmee met me at the bottom of the stairs, "Sorry about my dad."_

_I laughed and turned to Edward who was glaring, "It's alright."_

_Once we were down stairs he let me have a little space. I played cards with Emmett, Nessie, and Carlisle. I didn't pay much attention to what I was doing, I could feel Edward's eyes burning a hole into my back._

_I wished he would lighten up a bit, he was making me nervous. I felt like I couldn't relax and be myself, how could I live like this? And then it clicked, he was doing this to make me uncomfortable._

_I looked at him and he nodded, letting me know I was right. I wonder what the rest of the family would think of his little plan. Of course I wouldn't say anything, but the thought was tempting._

_I just laughed, this wasn't going to convince me, he would lighten up eventually. _

"_What?" Renesmee asked when I laughed. _

"_Nothing, I was just thinking about things." I hoped she wouldn't push the subject._

"_What were you thinking about?" She smiled. Of course she would push it, I turned and looked at Edward._

"_I was just thinking about how weird it was that I met you guys." It wasn't a complete lie, I really felt that way._

_She sort of eyed me like she knew there may be more, but she didn't push it any farther. After Nessie won practically every game we all gave up, I was a little bit of a sore loser. Nessie and I went to the kitchen where Esme made us some pancakes, they weren't really my favorite, but I ate it cause I thought it might be rude if I didn't. _

_When Jake woke up he came to the kitchen with Ness and I. He kept eyeing me, like I was going to pounce on him or one of the Cullen's at some point in the near future, which made him seem a little paranoid if you ask me._

_I wasn't going to try anything. I was alone in a house full of vampires that could easily tear me apart, and one of them could read minds! I wouldn't even get away with a thought_ of hurting any of them.

I knew they were only doing it for the protection of their family, which I admired, I just wished they'd lighten up a bit. Oh well, I didn't have to stay, I could leave whenever I wanted. Although, I liked _some _of the family.

I spent most of the rest of the day with Emmett and Nessie, and Jake. We played video games; racing, football, things like that. We even played some kind of virtual reality game Nessie liked. Emmett made it funny because he played as a girl and beat up people.

The day passed quickly, all the luxuries of this house were really nice, but I mostly liked it because of the people in it. They just made the environment happy, probably not what you would expect upon entering a vampire's household.

It was a nice break from the life I had been leading as a nomad. Although, I knew that was probably the safest. Staying in one place too long could be dangerous, but I was pretty sure the danger was behind me. Well, I was hoping. 

"Dylann?" I heard Carlisle ask from across the room so I turned my attention from the game to him. "May we speak with you?"

He stood next to Esme. I just nodded and walked over to them. I'm sure I had a confused expression. What did they want? Had I done something wrong? They didn't really seem angry…

We walked up to Carlisle's study, maybe for privacy, though in reality, there was no privacy when everybody had super hearing. Maybe it was to make me more comfortable?

Carlisle shut the door and took a seat next to Esme, they sat where Jacob and Edward had last night. I smiled nervously at them and took a spot on the couch. 

Esme looked at Carlisle and then at me. "Don't be nervous Dylann." Easier said then done. "We just wanted to know if you have any interest staying with us?"

Maybe I wanted to say yes, maybe not. I sure as hell knew it was much safer to just say no and leave. But for some reason I just couldn't say no, of all my years in this country, hell, of all the days in my entire life, I had never been this happy. Even though I was constantly being watched, but that part wasn't exactly new for me.

I just needed more time to decide. If I wasn't welcome by all the members maybe it was a sign, maybe I _should _go. But the thought of going back to my miserable nomadic life just made me ache. I knew I _wanted_ to stay here, I just wasn't sure that was the smartest decision.

Maybe I could just stay for a little while. I mean, they weren't _forcing_ me to stay or go. I just didn't want to hurt any of them, I didn't want them to ever get hurt because of something I did.

"I'm sorry, but I'm just not sure what I want to do at this point. I really like this family, I'm just not sure staying here would be a brilliant idea." I tried to put it in a way that wouldn't upset them.

"I respect the decision, I'm just not sure I understand exactly what has you so hesitant to stay?" Esme asked.

I paused for a moment. I couldn't really tell them my whole life story. Even thinking about telling it gave me goose bumps. "Well, it's just that, I'm more of a take-it-day-by-day kind of person."

She nodded and smiled. "Okay, will you be staying for another night?" 

I looked out the window and realized the world had darkened. I guess staying another night wouldn't hurt anyone. "If you don't mind, then I would very much enjoy it."

"We don't mind at all. I know Renesmee loves having someone like herself in the house. And I wanted to let you know, that if you decide to leave, you are always welcome to come stay with us again. Although, we don't usually stay in one place for long." Carlisle had a smile that made you want to smile with him.

"I appreciate everything you are all doing for me." 

Esme smiled. "No problem Dylann. And just know that the boys will be in here again tonight. I tried to get them off you're back, but they're just both very protective of their women. They are both nice gentlemen when they're not being paranoid."

I laughed. "I understand where they're coming from."

There was a knock on the door, followed by me thinking _Speak of the Devil_ before the two entered. Esme gave them a stern motherly look and Edward smiled. 

Jacob stared me down as he took his place in the chair. I just smiled at him, kill em' with kindness, right? It seemed to only piss him off further. I walked past everyone and over to the door that led out of the small room.

"I'm going to say goodnight to everyone." I went back to the living room, where everyone sat in the same spot as before. 

"I just wanted to say goodnight. I had a lot of fun today, thank you." I tried to give them all a sincere smile. It really meant a lot to me to be accepted by a family that had so many reasons to not trust me.

They all gave me goodnights and I walked back up to the room. Esme and Carlisle were no longer there, so I was welcomed by only Edward and Jacob. I ignored their scowls and walked straight to the couch.

They didn't say one word to me, I would have thought they were gone if not for their breathing. It took me a while to get to sleep, I wasn't really tired.

I couldn't filter out all the thoughts passing through my head. I knew Edward saw some of my hopes and dreams. Most of them were to stay with this family. 

I'm also sure he saw a lot of my doubts and reasons not to stay. His and Jake's paranoia were one of them. I think I heard him chuckle quietly, the bastard was clearly amused that his plan was working. 

But that wasn't the only sour thought I had. I had worries of all sorts, most of them probably had him questioning what exactly I had been doing before I came to this country. Thankfully for me, I started getting sleepy before too many of those thoughts escaped the locks I had them buried under in my memories.

Almost a week passed as I bonded with the Cullen's. I could even feel Jacob and Edward begin to warm up to me. They still watched me all the time, the only breaks I got was when I was in the bathroom, literally. 

I started really warming up to Renesmee's bouncy personality. I came to love the eccentric Ms. Alice. Even Emmett started growing on me. I know not every member of the house particularly like me, but everyday I seemed to feel a greater affection from these people. Which scared me a little, but also made me consider staying.

I knew that would piss some of them off, but I would eventually win them over, right? Could I eventually call this family _my _family? I had managed to keep some of my thoughts private, but I couldn't hide them forever.

And when they found out my roots, would they still- _Shut up Dylann!_ I thought as I noticed Edward had his eyes intently on me. I couldn't afford slip ups like that, I just couldn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

I woke up with the bright sun shining right into my eyes. I pulled the cover over my head, not wanting to wake from my nice dreamless sleep. I didn't want to get up, but I thought it might be rude to stay in bed all day.

I groaned and got off of the soft leather couch. I stretched and headed for the closed door of the office. Then I stopped and turned to where the boys had been sitting last night. Where were they?

I opened the door and went down the spiraling stairs. When I came down the whole family was sitting in the living room, "How did you sleep?" Esme asked from the couch.

"Wonderful, thanks for letting me stay." I smiled and came into the living room area.

"Can we talk to you?" I heard Edward ask from the entrance of the kitchen, Jake was standing behind him.

I pointed to myself and he nodded. I walked to the kitchen, not sure what exactly was going on. They sat down at the large table and Edward gestured for me to sit down opposite him.

"I wanted to apologize for being so rude to you before. I didn't give you a chance before I judged you." Edward looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry for acting like a jerk, I do that sometimes." Jake laughed.

I nodded and looked at them, "It's alright, I understand where you guys were coming from, but thank you for giving me a chance."

"So does this mean you'll be staying with us longer?" Jake asked.

I shook my head, "Like I told you the first night, I don't like to stay in one place for too long."

Edward looked at me in a way that showed me he was picking through my thoughts. I knew he was seeing that I truly wanted to stay with this coven. I knew he also saw my fears: making a commitment to anyone or anything, the others that still had a problem with me, and letting someone down.

"You don't need to be worried about those things, we all appreciate you. Everyone lets people down sometimes, its part of being…alive or whatever. And don't worry about Rosalie and Jasper, they'll warm up to you." Edward was trying to convince me.

It was very tempting, I just wanted to stay, but what if I ended up being a burden? What if I made some king of mistake and got one of them hurt? What if I couldn't handle being a part of the family, what if I let them down?

"You might, but we're not trying to force you into staying forever. Just as long as you'd like, maybe forever. Whatever you're comfortable with. Why don't you just take it day by day and stay?" he was inching me nearer to saying yes, and he knew it.

I nodded, "Alright, I guess I'll stay."

I heard a shriek from the other room and realized everyone was listening to our conversation. "We have a bit of a nosey clan." Edward smiled.

We got up and went into the living room. Alice and Renesmee were smiling, talking about me. They got up when we entered and came over to hug me. "We're happy you're staying Dylann." Nessie said while Alice nodded.

"Thanks."

Esme came over to me and gave me a hug too, "I'm so happy you'll be staying with us."

The whole clan, minus two members joined in, saying similar things. When they all calmed down a bit we all sat down. Alice, Nessie, and I sat on the floor in the middle of where the furniture was situated. "Where's Dylann going to sleep?" Bella asked.

"Well, if Nessie didn't mind I was hoping to remodel her room here so it could be yours." she looked at me.

"That's fine, and when I stay here we can be roomies!" she smiled brightly at me.

"Thank you." I told her, "Thank you all, for letting me stay. I really appreciate everything you are doing for me."

"We don't mind it at all Dylann." Alice started. "We're happy!"

"You all could go now, I'll start planning the room out for her while you go. What's your favorite color Dylann?" Esme asked.

"I really love all the cold colors, purple is my favorite." she nodded. Now that I said I was staying, things were moving extremely fast. The fact they were making me a room made it feel permanent, which scared me a little. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be happy because I was terrified by the expectations being apart of a family brought.

"Let's go get ready!" Alice pulled me up the stairs, Nessie followed closely behind. We went to Nessie's room, which was now mine I guess. We went to the closet and it was almost the size of Alice's, but not quite.

"You wait here." Alice told me. I did what she said and her and Nessie picked some clothes out.

They came back after about two minutes with the out fit I remembered from the first night, with some silver stilettos and jewelry. The handed me all the clothes and sent me to the bathroom to change. I looked in the full length mirror and was stunned. I loved it, I felt like a million bucks. It suited me so well, and my hair curled all the way down perfectly down my back. I wandered if while we were out today that I could get it cut a little.

I walked out to where Alice and Nessie were standing. They smiled, "You look awesome in that!" they said at the same time, making us all laugh.

"Thanks. Hey do you think while were out I can get my hair cut a bit?" I asked Alice.

She nodded, "Yeah, you and Ness can do that and get a Mani Pedi while I look at some clothes." I wondered why she couldn't come, but I would just ask Nessie later, I didn't want to seem rude.

We went down stairs and said goodbye to everyone before heading to Alice's yellow Porsche. They had so many nice cars, I saw at least 5. "We all have cars." Alice told me, before pulling out onto the road toward the city.

"So Dylann, what have you been doing?" Ness asked from the front seat.

"I've just been wondering around from place to place, I actually stayed in Albany for about a week. I found a wallet when I was hunting, it didn't have any identification, but it had about 900 dollars in it, I was lucky. Anyway I went to a hotel and got cleaned up. I had to break into a room and get some clothes though." I explained my story, sometimes I felt bad for doing some of the things I had to do, but if I didn't have clothes I wouldn't blend in with society.

"Do you do that a lot?" she asked with big eyes.

I laughed, "When I have to, its hard to find money when you don't stay in one place all the time. I don't ever like mug people though, and when I take clothes I where them until they get to ratty looking. I try not to take expensive things. I come across money all the time though, I learned the scent so I find it all the time. I have to keep money and clothes or else I look suspicious to the humans."

She nodded, "You had a weird life."

I smiled, I liked the way she said 'had' instead of 'have'. "Yeah, I guess I did."

Alice pulled into the parking lot and we got out. It started raining, but that was good I guess, it meant no sun. I followed them in as we ran to the entrance. We came into JC Penny and Alice turned to me, "Okay Dylann, are you good with fashion? Or should I just pick things out for you?"

I smiled, "You should probably just pick things out for me, is that okay?"

"Yeah! I love shopping, this will be fun! Okay, I'll shop, Ness." she looked at Nessie. "You take Dylann to get her hair done and get Mani- Pedi's. Then go get something to eat and call me when your done."

She handed Nessie a credit card and we went on our way. I walked with her through the mall until we came to a beauty shop. When we walked in Nessie talked to the woman behind the counter. She turned back to me, "I told them to do something pretty drastic to your hair, do you trust me?"

"Um, I guess." she smiled at me and pulled me over to chair and turned me away so I couldn't see myself in the mirror. She parted my hair on the right side and started cutting it. My head slowly began to feel lighter and I could tell she had cut a lot off.

Nessie was giving the woman directions on what exactly to do so luckily she couldn't see the grimace on my face. I was suddenly excited my hair grew fast, if I didn't like what she did it would only take about three months to get my hair back the way it was.

When they were done cutting they pulled out a hair straightener and began to smooth my curls down. I felt part of it when she was done and it was just about an inch below my shoulders. I felt her brush though it, then Nessie came over to face me. "You look awesome, you ready to see?"

She laughed evilly, "Well you can't see it yet, they're going to do your make-up first."

"You are a cruel, cruel person." I told her jokingly.

"I know!" she chirped.

They took me over to another chair and Nessie successfully covered my eyes so I couldn't look in a mirror as we walked. Once they set me down I ran my fingers through my straight, short hair again, I noticed I had side bangs too.

"I'm going to get a new outfit from Alice, I want you look completely stunned when you see yourself. Are you okay here?" she asked me.

"Yeah." she left and the woman went to work.

The woman came around to face me. She had red hair, brown eyes and lots of freckles. She looked about 20 and was a bit overweight. "I'm Tammy, I'm going to start by waxing your eye brow, alright?"

I nodded, I had never had that done before. She put some clear goo on a small white strip and put it on my eyebrow. She placed it how she wanted it, pushed down and then ripped it off. "Shit!"

I accidentally yelled, causing everyone in the shop to look at me, "First time?" Tammy asked.

"Yeah, sorry?"

"It's alright, you're not the first one to swear in pain here." we laughed, I didn't doubt it one bit, it hurt, even for me.

She placed the wax again, but because I was prepared, and it didn't hurt so bad. She repeated the same steps a few times until she told me I looked "fabulous". I smiled and she moved on to do my make-up.

She didn't apply any foundation, she said my skin was already perfect. She rubbed some blush on my cheeks, and moved onto my eyes. She told me what she did as she went, "I'm going to use light pink color to your eyes because your sister told me to use light colors."

"My sister?" I asked Tammy.

"Yes, she said she was your sister, I think?"

"Oh yeah, my sister." I smiled, Nessie thought of me as her sister?

She finished my eyes using a gray eyeliner and mascara before moving down to my lips. It had been about 20 minutes and I wondered where Nessie was. My insecurities kicked in, _What if they had abandoned me?_ I thought.

"You look amazing Dylann!" I sighed in relief as Tammy finished applying a shiny peach tented lip gloss.

I looked over to where I her Alice had yelled, Renesmee was beside her, "I wouldn't know, Nessie wont let me look at myself." I joked.

"Well all you have to do is get changed and then you can see yourself." Nessie laughed at my pout.

She pulled out an average peach tank top, then moved to where the skirts were hanging. There she pulled out a white high waisted skirt that had a yellow, peach, and green floral pattern. She also gave me some silver gladiator shoes and a silver necklace. "Go put this on in there." she pointed to room that had a sign saying beauty closet.

I did what she told me and put on the outfit on. "Can I come out now?" I yelled from the closet.

"Yeah!" they both yelled.

I stepped out and turned to the mirror. I slow grin spread across my face as I looked up and down. My hair was about just about shoulder length, a bit longer. I had long side bangs that blended into my hair just blow my nose. My make-up was done perfectly, and Alice had picked out the perfect outfit.

I looked at the three girls who had just transformed me and smiled, "You guys are… amazing!"

I went over and hugged them all, even Tammy who I had just met. They all doted over how good I looked. It made me blush, I loved getting compliments, but it made me feel weird. I thanked them repeatedly until Alice said she had to finish her shopping while Nessie and I got our nails done.

It took a while, but when we were done Nessie and I had both gotten plain French acrylic on our finger nails, and on bottom I got a pretty silver. Nessie got an elaborate design in blue.

We walked to the food court after our nails had had time to dry. We only got drinks because human food didn't sound very good to either of us right now. "That guy is staring at you!" she pointed to a guy across the food court.

"Whatever, he's looking at you." I was embarrassed, I'd never had guys looking at me before.

"Okay, he's looking at _us_." she laughed, "But the difference is that _you're_ available. Smile at him!"

"No!" She kicked my shin. "Oww!"

"Smile at him, or I will. Then you'll seem pathetic when he comes over." she turned to look at him and I kicked her.

"Fine!" I looked at the guy across the food court, he was smiling at us again. I smiled back at him then turned back to Nessie.

She laughed, "I didn't say to be creepy!"

I dropped my jaw, "That was not creepy! And I've never done this, give me a break!"

She turned her head back to where he was and back to me fast, "He's coming over here."

We laughed, I didn't look, but I knew he was close when Nessie touched my arm and sent a thought, _He's heading right for you._

I looked up and he was standing there, looking at me. He had short brown hair and big green eyes. He was a little pale, but tanner than Nessie and I. He had rosy red cheeks, I wasn't sure if he was just blushing or if it was natural.

He smiled and my heart thumped in my chest, "I saw you girls starring at me from across the food court. Is there something I can help you out with?"

He was talking to us both, but he was looking at me, I blushed and looked away. He laughed and asked "What's your name?"

When I didn't respond Nessie did, "I'm Renesmee, this is my sister Dylann. She was looking at you because she thought you were cute."

Did she really just say that? I'm sure my face was scarlet red by now. I looked at him, "She's just kidding." it was a bit of a stutter, and an extremely weak lie.

"It's okay, I thought you were cute too." He winked and laughed, "I'm Shawn."

I smiled and he laughed. "Not a very talkative person are you?"

"I'm sorry I just-"

I was cut off by his loud chuckling, "It's okay, can I have your number and we can talk later?"

_5523397_ Nessie sent me the thought, I didn't have a number yet, I guessed it was hers. "5523397" I told him.

"Alright, I'll call you." he walked away and I looked at Nessie

"I cant believe you just did that to me!" we laughed and she recalled my stuttering. I hit her in the arm.

"Oww, look at it this way, you may just have a date coming up!" she smiled at me. My face got all red again, it seemed to be happening a lot today.

"Whose got a date?" I heard Alice come up behind me and I turned.

"Dylann! With some guy named Shawn." Nessie yelled to her.

"Oh, we need to get an outfit for that then!" she sounded excited, I could tell right away that she just waited for opportunities to shop for people.

"Guys, c'mon, it's not even official yet. Plus, I think you've gotten enough clothes for one day Alice." I noticed she had at least 3 large bags on both arms.

She laughed out loud, "I already have nine other bags in the car!"

"Alice doesn't let us wear an outfit more than twice." she told me and I started to laugh, "I'm not kidding, she'll have a fit if you do."

I laughed with the girls. I was finally getting my chance at the normal life I had always envied. I was on the way to becoming a regular teen. Well, except for my vampire family.


	4. Chapter 4

**Heya! Thank you to everyone reading my story... it really does make me super happy. i know not a lot has really happened yet, but im just setting the scene so bare with me. i do not own twilight, unfortunately... Well, i hope you enjoy this chapter and pretty please reveiw!**

Chapter Four

When we got home from shopping it was just around 7:00 and the sun was setting beautifully. It reflected beautiful red tented colors against the many clouds in the sky. I hadn't stopped to look at a good sunset in a long time.

As we entered Alice went with Esme to discuss my room, which they wouldn't let me see because they wanted it to be a surprise. Nessie went on a walk with Jake, Bella and Edward were at their cabin, and Emmett and Jasper were playing some sort of game. I thought about going to talk to Rosalie, but her glares told me that wasn't a good idea.

I decided to just go to Carlisle's office, which was currently my room while Esme remodeled mine. I went at human speed up the stairs and down the hall to the door of the study. I opened the door and jumped.

"Hello Dylann."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, I was just doing some reading." I looked down and saw Carlisle was holding the Holy Bible.

"Do you believe our kind really have a chance?" it was something I had wondered about for a long time.

"I'd like to think we do, but I'm not entirely sure about it myself." he looked back to the book.

I nodded and turned away from study and went to a door that had no name labeling it. The door squeaked open to and led to some dark stairs, leading up to what I assumed was an attic. I closed the door behind me and walked up the steep stairs. It was dark, but with my stronger-than-human eyes everything was clear.

There was a large window against one of the walls, it had a little window seat under it. The rest of the attic was filled with boxes, each was marked with a name of the family. I heard a scream from outside and ran to the window.

I saw Renesmee running from Jacob, I realized they were only playing. He caught her in his arms and wrapped her up. I laughed and turned away, walking back over to the boxes. I found one labeled Edward, it was full of sheet music for a full array of different songs.

I saw that some of them were hand written, Edward wrote music? I shuffled around some more until I saw something labeled Bella's Lullaby. That was so romantic, he wrote a song for her.

I looked at the notes and read them, hearing the tune in my head. I used to play piano, the place I had been had a piano back when I was with the old coven. The song was beautiful, I had never been able to write music, but I loved to play it.

I put the music back into the box and looked into another one, this one belonged to Esme. It had some paint cards and room designs on top. I dug a little deeper and found some old photos. I dragged the box over to the window seat and pulled a stack out to look at.

They had pictures of her and Carlisle, each was labeled with a date and a little note. I found one that had the two on a beautiful island, laying out on the sand. They sparkled, so you couldn't see much because of a glare. I flipped the photo over, _1963, Isle Esme, My birthday. _

I pulled out another photo, this one had the whole family, except Jacob and Renesmee. Bella was human, she had the same chocolate brown eyes I saw in Renesmee. They were all in proper attire, Bella was in a beautiful wedding dress. _2008, Edward and Bella's wedding. _

It was a year before I was born, now it was 2026, they had been married for seventeen years. I had seen them today with the same look of love for each other across their faces. I couldn't imagine being so in love with someone that it never lessons, even after seventeen years.

Someone knocked on the door, causing me to jump and turn towards the door quickly. Esme walked up the stairs and looked at the open box next to me.

"I'm sorry, I was just curious." I hoped she wouldn't be too upset.

"Oh its fine dear, what are you looking at there." she held her hand out for the photo.

"Edward and Bella's wedding." I told her, though I'm sure she recognized it herself.

She nodded her head, "You want to hear our story?" she asked

"Yeah." I nodded. She sat down beside me , she looked out the window for a moment, staring into the distance.

"I'll start from the beginning, Carlisle was the first of us to be changed. his father was a minister, devoted to ending the existence of vampires. Carlisle followed in his path, but one night while he was looking for vampires he happened upon a creature in the night. He was bitten and when the intense pain stopped he began to realize what he had become and he was disgusted with himself. He tried to kill himself over and over, but as you know, that's a hard task for us." she laughed.

"Any way, he realized he wouldn't be able to do it, and he couldn't stop the burning in his throat, but he refused to kill any humans. So, when he became weak with hunger and saw a deer he just attacked it. It wasn't the best, but he realized he could survive. After years in Europe he made his way over to the states. That's where he became a doctor during the Spanish Influenza outbreak. It was the perfect job for him because he couldn't get sick." she talked about him admirably, a smile stretched on her face.

"Wasn't it tempting though? Like when he would need to do something with their blood?" I asked her.

"I'm sure it was, but he is a strong soul Dylann... One day when he was working he came across a woman named Elizabeth Masen, Edwards biological mother. Her husband had already died, she was sick, so was Edward. One night when her and Edward were nearing their death she used all her strength to whisper to Carlisle 'I want you to do everything in your power to save him.' when he told her he was she told him to do everything in _his_ power, as if she knew he was a vampire."

"Do you think she knew?" I asked Esme.

"I'm not sure, it's possible I guess." she told me.

"So Carlisle turned you all?"

"No, not Alice or Jasper, they met up with us. I was next after Edward. I had met Carlisle once when I was sixteen, I had fallen out of a tree and broken my leg, he was my doctor. I never forgot his kind face, but he left shortly after and my life moved on. I had been forced into marriage with an abusive man, Charles Evenson. He was terrible to me, a crueler creature than any. When he was drafted into WW2 I found some relief. But the inevitable happened when he returned, I discovered I was pregnant shortly after." she smiled, but it was tinged with sadness.

"I refused to bring a baby into that home, so I ran away. I had a cousin in Milwaukee, but when word spread about my whereabouts I had to go further north. I moved to Ashland, I became a school teacher, a wish of mine. My life was starting to get better when I had my son. He was beautiful, with the most gorgeous eyes… But he got a lung infection early on, and well… you know." her face softened, I knew if she had the ability to produce tears she would be.

"I'm so sorry, that's terrible." I told her

She nodded, "It was all I could take, I…jumped off of a cliff, I was ready for it to be over. I really couldn't bear the life I had." My eyes widened, I couldn't believe it, "They took me to the morgue, thinking I was dead. Carlisle heard a heartbeat though, and knew I was barely alive. He had been in Ashland, working at the hospital. He told me how he remembered me as the happy teenager I had once been and couldn't let me die."

"When he bit me I woke up from the pain. I saw his face, and despite the pain, I felt overwhelming relief. Once I was a vampire I sort of took the role as mother to Edward and the others. It's not exactly the same, but it fills the maternal yearning I have."

"So you were happy to become an immortal?" I asked her. Some loved it, others not so much.

"For the most part, I love Carlisle. I love this family, I was very lucky to be with them. Edward was very unhappy, Carlisle was content with it I guess, we all are, except one."

"_Rosalie?"_ She nodded.

"She was the next to become one of us. While she was human she had a wonderful life, she was beautiful, rich, and envied by many people. The one thing she didn't have was a husband and family. She wanted it badly after seeing her friends son with curly hair and a dimpled smile. Her family introduced her to a man named Royce, she was engaged to him quickly. On the outside he was a wonderful person, but on the inside he was just an alcoholic. One night when Rose was going home-"

"Esme!" I heard Rosalie yell from the staircase.

"I'm sorry, I'll be right back." Esme swiftly ran down to Rose, I heard them whispering. I caught bits and pieces, basically Rose didn't trust me and didn't want Esme blabbing their past to me.

When they were done Esme came back to me, "Rosalie doesn't feel I should be telling you our past, so I'm going to respect her wishes, I'm sorry"

I shook my head, "Thank you for letting me see into your past"

She nodded, "Are you going to stay up here?"

"If that's okay?" I felt at peace here, looking out into the forest was in someway, comforting to me.

"That's fine, I'll put a blanket out for you in Carlisle's study." She was such a kind soul.

"Thank you." she went down the stairs and stopped at the door.

"Good night Dylann."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I stretched out and realized I had fallen asleep on the window seat, curled up into a ball, and there was a small red fleece blanket on me. I got up and went down stairs, Alice was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs from the attic. "Why did you sleep in the attic?"

I laughed, "I just fell asleep, I guess."

"Oh, well lets go dress you, I want you to try on your new clothes!" she dragged me towards where her room was.

"Actually, I was just going to go hunting, so I'll just wear this and change when I get back." It was silly to get dressed now if I was going to get dirty.

"Don't be silly, just change now, and then change again." She laughed like _I _was the one being illogic.

"That's just a waist of clothes." I told her.

"We can always by new stuff, now go put this on." She handed me a white loose button up shirt, that had a thick red shiny belt on the waist, red flats and black denim shorts. Also a set of undergarments.

I didn't bother putting up a fight, whatever made her happy. I went to her bathroom and got dressed. I looked in the mirror, I had to admit the outfit was cute. When I looked in the mirror I saw that my makeup and hair were still tidy. I stepped out to go to Alice. "I am good." She smiled at herself.

I laughed, "Yes you are."

We walked downstairs to the kitchen, Esme was making some food and Jake was sitting at the counter, looking hungry with Nessie beside him. I walked over to Esme, "I'm going out to hunt."

"By yourself?" She asked, as if I was defenseless.

I nodded, but Nessie was instantly beside me, "Nope, I'm going with her."

"If you're going, I'm going" Jake pulled Nessie away from me.

She rolled her eyes, "No Jake, you stay here and eat, I'll be fine."

"No." He shook his head at her. "I'll eat when I get back, I'm coming with you Nessie."

_What am I? Chopped liver? _I sent the thought to Jake. He shrugged, but I could tell he was only joking.

"What?" Nessie asked when she saw us laugh.

"Nothing, I just figured out that I may be nothing more than chopped liver." I told her.

"Jake!" She hit him in the stomach.

"I was only kidding." He gave me a your-dead look jokingly.

"I know." We all laughed and headed for the door. I followed Jake and Nessie who were hand in hand, around the house to the thick tree line.

Jake's phone rang in his pocket so he reached down to answer it. Nessie beat him to it and answered it for him, "Jacob Black's phone." She laughed.

"Hi Embry! How's Kara?" She shouted into the receiver. "Guess what!… We met another half vampire, and now she's staying with us!"

I heard the tone of a less than enthusiastic voice on the other end, "She's cool though, she sort of does the same thing as me, she sends thoughts, and emotions! Isn't that cool?… Her name is Dylann, she's-"She turned to me, "How old are you Dylann?"

"Seventeen." Who was she talking to, who was Embry? One of Jake's friends?

"She's seventeen." She told Embry, "You want to talk to her?"

Jake grabbed the phone from Nessie and put it to his ear. "Sorry bout that, Ness is a little excited about the new one." I heard a loud laugh from the other end.

"Seriously? Where's it at?" Jake questioned the caller.

"Awesome! I'll see what I can do." Jake was energetic when it came to people he liked.

I thought I would mess with him a bit. If I sent a certain emotion, and a thought I could manipulate the persons thoughts and make them say it and actually feel it for a brief time. I focused on the loving look of Renesmee to Jake and thought of all the love movies I had ever seen and sent that along with _I love you Embry _to Jake.

His look changed and I knew it was working. Softly and romantically he said, "I love you Embry."

He and Nessie got really weird looks, and I couldn't help bursting out laughing, My stomach muscles tightened and I couldn't breath. Jake gave me a really mean look and I dropped to the ground. I was literally rolling on the ground laughing.

I heard a voice on the phone laughing hard, but shouting "What?" in between chuckles. Renesmee looked at Jake, "What's going on?"

_I made him say that_ I sent her the thought, I couldn't talk. She started laughing with me, the look on Jake's face was priceless. He looked so dumbfounded, I wished I could take a picture. He was glaring at me.

"Shut up dude, I have a bloodsucker playing with my mind." He walked away, into the forest and left Ness and I laughing.

When she could control herself she asked, "How did you do that?"

I took a deep breath so I could calm down too, "I just pictured all this lovey dovey stuff and sent that along with the thought into his mind."

She smiled, "That's awesome."

I nodded, "Is he like going to hold a grudge against me now?"

She shook her head, "No, but he will get even with you, and he's pretty mean sometimes."

I wasn't to worried about it, I could take whatever he dished out. "Oh my gosh I almost forgot to tell you!" Renesmee started.

"What?" I asked her.

"Last night I came up to show you, but you were already asleep. Shawn texted you, he asked if you wanted to go out tonight." She pulled out her phone and put it in front of my face.

"What did you say?" I asked her.

"I told him yes, of course!" She smiled at me.

"Where are we going, what time?" I asked her.

"He's taking you ice skating, and he's coming at 6:00." I smiled, I had never done this sort of thing before, I wanted to jump for joy.

Jake came back to us, a smile spread across his face. "Alright, you guys can't say anything, but Embry and Kara just bought a house! He needs some help so I'm going to try to convince Edward to let us leave early." He was talking to Renesmee.

"Fat chance." She laughed, and turned to me, "Do you think you could convince him? Like you did with Jake."

"I'm sure I could, but it wouldn't last that long, just a little, until they realize what's going on, it works good on human's though. Anyway, sorry, I can't really help you out." Even if I could I would have lied, I didn't want Edward to hate me.

"Alright, where's Emmett and Alice? I have an idea, I can't tell l you guys though, you might think about it in front of Edward."

We nodded and he went toward the big house. We went deeper into the forest and did the hunting before going back to the big house. When we got there I took a shower while Renesmee picked out an outfit for me.

Esme had my whole room planned out with Alice, tomorrow Esme was going to get it all together, she said she would be done with it by the end of the week. I couldn't wait, I really liked this family, I know everyone didn't feel the same way about me, but I hoped that would change.

I got out and brushed through my short hair, Nessie had an out fit hanging up in the bathroom. A soft blue jacket, with a pain black tank top underneath, dark blue skinny jeans, and silver ballet flats. These Cullen girls sure do know a hell of a lot more about this stuff then I do.

I put the clothes on and walked to Alice's room. Her and Jasper were just sitting on their bed, staring into each others eyes. I knocked on the door and they looked up, Nessie came up behind me.

"You look cute." She smiled.

"Thanks."

Jasper left the room, "I'll let you ladies do your thing."

I followed the girls over to their vanity mirror "Straight or curly?"

"What?" I asked in response to Alice's odd question.

"Do you want to keep your hair curly, or should I straighten it?" She laughed.

"Oh. What do you think?" I had know idea about anything when it came to beauty, and girly things.

"I think it looks pretty curly, but I just need to fix a couple things." She turned to Nessie, "I'll do her hair while you do her make up."

She nodded and they went to work, Alice blow-dried while Nessie did my eyes. They were done faster than I would have expected. I looked in the mirror and smiled, how much things have changed since I met these wonderful people.

"What time is it?" I asked again for the millionth time.

"6:33, the same time it was 30 seconds ago." Emmett sighed, "Maybe he's not coming."

Alice hit him, "Of course he is, he's just running late or something."

I had been ready for two hours, maybe Emmett was right. I sighed and sat back on the couch. My stomach was fluttering, a million different thoughts and emotions flew through my mind.

When the clock ticked on I gave up hope, I was a bit depressed, but I didn't show it. Nessie, Jake, and I played cards. I still kept glancing up at the clock, I knew Ness saw it from the corner of her eye, but she didn't say anything. "So, what are we doing tomorrow." I tried getting my mind off of things.

"We have school, but you don't start for like two weeks. Carlisle wants to get you caught up on things." Nessie told me.

I forgot this coven tried to blend in. I heard that school was torture, so why go? But I would go along with what Carlisle told me, I secretly wanted to impress him. I wanted to impress everyone, they all seemed to be so achieved, I wanted to add to the success somehow.

I heard gravel being crushed in the driveway, and I shot up. I went to the window and saw Shawn pulling up in his car. "It's him!"

"I told you!" Alice came to me.

I heard him walking up to the door and I went to sit on the couch so it looked like I hadn't even realized he was here. When he knocked on the door Esme went to answer the door, "Hello."

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Dylann." He sounded confident, which made me even more nervous.

I got up off the couch and went to the door, "Hi Shawn."

He smiled, "Hello, I'm sorry I'm late. There was accident of the interstate."

"It's alright."

"Hey Dylann!" I heard Jake behind me, so I spun around to face him. He put his arms around me and squeezed me as tight as he could. I felt him ruffle my hair before he released me. "Have fun on you're first date."

He then turned to Shawn. "She's been talking about you all night long, it was kind of annoying, you know… Shawn this, Shawn that…. She's so excited. You kids have fun, but not too much, if you catch my drift."

I shut my eyes and my face turned red. I faced Jake, and glared, "Shut up, Jake."

I grabbed Shawn's hand without looking back at the house. We walked out to his car, he was laughing. "He was just trying to get me back for pranking him earlier."

He laughed and opened the passenger door for me, "It's okay, I knew he was joking."

I watched him walk around to the other side and climb in. He started the car and pulled out onto the main road. "What did you do to him?"

I laughed, remembering the afternoon. I couldn't really tell him the whole story, "Well I sort of tricked him into saying he loved his friend. Then his friend gave him a lot of shit for it."

Shawn laughed, "Clever, I guess you deserved it then." he paused, looking at me, "You look beautiful by the way."

I bit my bottom lip, "Thanks."

We listened to some music while he drove to the skating rink. "So why did you choose this?" I asked him.

"I play hockey here, I thought it would be better than a movie."

I nodded, "Much better."

We got some skates and entered to sitting area outside the rink. We sat on a big silver bench and put our skates on. When I finished he stood before me and put his hand out, "Shall we?"

"We shall." I laughed and used his hand for support to stand, though I really didn't need it.

We hobbled to the entrance of the rink, he stopped me just before we entered, "Wait."

"What." I asked him.

He out his hand in his pocket and pulled something out, "Turn away from me." he twirled his finger as a gesture.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"Just do it!" he smiled.

I held my hands up in defeat, "Okay." I turned so I was no longer facing him. He took a moment before tapping my shoulder. I faced him again and laughed. He had a yellow hat on, at the top there were long pieces of blue and yellow fabric flowing down passed the hat.

"You like it?" he asked.

"Oh yes, you look awesome. I only wish I had one." I laughed again.

He pulled his hands from behind his back and put an identical hat on my head, except the colors were pink and purple. "Wish granted."

"Yay, now we match!" I joked with him.

He adjusted the had so that the long pieces of fabric weren't in my face, "You ready to skate now?"

I laughed, "Yepp." we stepped on and started skating. Music played in the background, and different colored lights swam around us. He held my hand as we skated, making me smile.

"How old are you?" he asked.

"I'm seventeen, you?"

"I'm nineteen, my birthday is in like two weeks though." He didn't really look that old, I would have guessed eighteen at most.

"Shawn!" I heard a guy yell from behind us. Shawn turned us around and he pulled me over to the side.

A guy that was about Shawn's size skated over to us, he had a girl with him too. She was tall like him, with blonde hair and brown eyes. The boy had blonde hair too, but with green eyes, though they didn't shine like Shawn's did.

"Hey Avery." They high-fived then laughed.

I smiled at the girl and she sneered at me. I looked away, feeling an undeserved rudeness from her.

"This is Hailey, I told you about her." Shawn smiled and nodded to her. She gave him a flirtatious smile.

"Hi Hailey, nice to meet you. This is Dylann." I smiled at Avery, but didn't bother looking at Hailey.

"Nice hat." She smiled, but their was an undertone of rudeness in her high, squeaky voice.

I looked over at Shawn and realized for the first time that he had taken his goofy hat off, leaving me looking like a fool all on my own. "Thanks." How freaking embarrassing.

"Should we make this a double date?" Avery asked us. He seemed like a decent person, so what was he doing with this chick?

_Please say no, please say no, please say no!_ I thought.

"Yeah." Shawn nodded and smiled at them. "Sounds fun."

"That's your date?" Hailey laughed, "I thought she was like, your little sister."

"Yeah seriously dude, how old is she?" Avery laughed, this evening is going wonderfully.

"I'm seventeen." I said it snippy, these people were really starting to get on my nerves, Shawn included. He just stood there, letting them ridicule me to no end. I was starting to wish he would have just stood me up.

"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?" Hailey talked to me like I was three. They all laughed at her little joke. I couldn't believe the guy laughing next to me was the same sweet guy I came with.

"C'mon guys, lets skate." Avery pushed ahead of us, his hand intertwined with Hailey's like mine was with Shawn's. I pulled mine away and he gave me a weird look, like he didn't realized he had just been a jerk to me.

"What happened to your hat?" I asked him.

"Well, I just took it off, I figured you would too." He showed a little guilt now.

"You two coming?" Avery yelled back at us.

I took off towards them, Shawn beside me. We caught up to them and Shawn tried to take my hand again. I pulled away without looking at him and put my hand in my pocket. Shawn talked to Avery and Hailey and I began feeling left out, then Avery skated ahead of the group, slowing when he was beside me, "What's up?"

I looked over and saw that Shawn and Hailey were talking about something stupid. "Nothing."

"Not very a verbal person, are you?" He asked, elbowing me playfully.

I rolled my eyes, "I guess not."

He laughed, "Then I'll start the conversation, can I ask you why, out of every possible hat to choose, you chose that one?"

I laughed without humor, "It was a gift."

"Wow, what did you do to make them hate you so much?" He laughed, I couldn't help but laugh with him. He sort of reminded me of Emmett, he even had a mean blonde girlfriend.

I took the hat off and stuck it in my pocket. I ran my fingers through my hair, fixing the curls. "You look much older, and less dorky without that hat."

I laughed, "Okay, note to self: burn the hat when I get home."

He grinned, "Good idea, your turn."

"My turn?" I asked him.

"To ask me any question. I promise not to be offended."

"Why, out of all the possible girls to choose, you chose that one?" I hoped I didn't cross the line asking that.

He laughed, letting me know he wasn't mad, "Well, honestly? I know she's kind of a jerk but its hard to find a girl that's hot _and_ nice. Shawn just got lucky."

I smiled, right about now I liked Avery a lot better than Shawn. "Well, if I were you, I would rather be with a decent person then with her." I told him.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe you're right. My turn. Why did you go out with Shawn?" he asked.

"I thought he was cute, and he _seemed_ nice. Can I tell you a secret?" I asked. He nodded and bent his head down, "This is my first date."

He pulled away and his eyes were wide, "No wa-"

His skate ran into mine and he wobbled before falling to the ground, pulling me down with him. I fell on his stomach, rolling off as soon as we were down. Shawn came to me fast, Hailey at his side. "Are you okay?" He held his hand out.

I nodded, but I couldn't talk, I was laughing too hard. I looked at Avery, he was holding his stomach and shaking with laughter. Hailey helped pull him up, but he wobbled with laughter and fell to the ground again.

I couldn't breath, Avery was turning red from the same thing. We crawled to the edge of the rink so we wouldn't be run over. Hailey and Shawn followed us over, they both looked a mix between worried, annoyed, and deeply confused.

When I calmed down enough that I could breath I stood up with the help of Shawn. Hailey helped Avery up and she glared at me, "Nice job."

"Shut up Hailey, it's my fault." Avery coldly told her, she rolled her eyes.

Why was it that Avery stood up for me, but Shawn just laughed stupidly when Hailey made fun of me? "Are you alright Dylann?"

"Yeah, the question is, are you okay? I landed right on top of you?" I answered Avery's question with another.

"Oh C'mon, you weigh like nothing." he told me.

"Do you need to sit out or anything?" Shawn looked concerned.

I laughed, "No, I'm fine." He still didn't look convinced, "I promise."

He nodded, "Okay, you want to keep skating? We can leave if you want? We can go somewhere else, whatever you want."

"I want to stay here. How late is this place open?" I asked, as long as Avery was staying, I would be here to. I wasn't sure if my feelings for him were necessarily romantic, I think it was more friendly. He made me laugh, I didn't want to go the rest of the date with rude Shawn, or Hailey, but she was with Avery.

"Avery," Hailey whined in her squeaky voice, "I have to get home, I have class tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll call you tomorrow." He kissed her, but she pushed him away.

"I drove here. How do you plan on getting home?" She glared at me, as if I had anything to do with this. Well, maybe I did.

"Can you drop me off Shawn?" He pouted out his lip and gave him puppy dog eyes. I laughed and Avery glanced at me and smiled. I looked at Shawn who was glaring at Avery.

"Ave, c'mon it's our first date." Shawn sounded like he was torn, I wanted to say 'Don't be torn! I want Avery to stay!' but I figured it would hurt his feelings.

Avery dropped his shoulder's and he looked at Hailey, "Guess I get to come with you! _Yay!_" He said sarcastically, I had to bite my bottom lip so I wouldn't giggle.

He turned back to Shawn and I, "I'll se ya later man." They high-five again like before, then he turned to me. "Nice to meet you, Dylann."

I shook his hand and smiled, "This was fun, we should do it again sometime." I was talking to strictly Avery, he knew it, but I looked at Shawn and Hailey too.

"I'll be counting the days." He said sarcastically.

"Get outta here!" Shawn pushed him jokingly.

Shawn and I skated around the rink for only five minutes before we decided to leave. I knew I was probably being rude the way I didn't talk to him. But the truth was, I was still mad at him for not standing up for me.

We went out to his car, he opened my door for me, then went around to his own. He didn't start the car, and it was silent for a moment before he broke it. "What's the matter with you?"

I rolled my eyes like Hailey did, "Well honestly? I feel like I had more fun with Avery, and know him better than you. By the end of the night Avery defended me like we were friends, but you just laughed stupidly any time I was made fun of."

"When were you made fun of?" He looked at me with serious eyes.

Was he stupid? "Hailey was treating me like crap pretty much the whole damn night! You're telling me you didn't even notice?"

He shook his head, "I thought she was just joking with you. Things will be different next time, I promise."

"Next time? Why would there be a next time? You embarrassed me, didn't stick up for me, and you didn't talk to me the whole time!" I was spitting mad.

"Only because you talked to Avery the whole time."

"That's because you invited them. Also he came to talk to me because _he _noticed that you were ignoring me."

"I don't know what to say?" He looked confused, like I was lying about everything that had gone on tonight.

I growled, if I sat here for any longer I would surely snap his stupid little neck. I opened the car door and climbed out, slamming it behind me. "Maybe you could say your sorry!" I yelled through the window.

"C'mon Dylann, let me take you home." he yelled back.

I turned to him, "I'll call my sister!" I walked away fast and ignored his yelling. It took me walking human speed to the sports center before realizing I had no way to call anyone for a ride.

I would just have to run there I guess, I think I remembered the way well enough. I watched as Shawn drove passed me, shaking his head. I decided I would wait a little while. No doubt the family would be waiting to see how my first date went, I wasn't ready to tell them it was crappy.

I sat down on a green bench and pulled my legs up. I got a little hot, after all it was September and I was in winter clothes. I rolled up my jeans so they were up to my knees, and took of the blue jacket. I put it behind my head leaned back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! So, this chapter really starts getting the plot rolling in motion. i hope you enjoy it! And as always, I own none of the characters, except Dylann. Oh, oh! and pleeeassseee reveiw, c'mon, I've finally resorted to begging! *Falls to knees* "Pleassseee! Please reveiw!" Aaanywho...YOU ROCK**

Chapter Six

"Dylann?" I heard someone yelled my name.

I groaned and rolled over, "Oww." I opened my eyes and realized I was on concrete. Why was I on concrete?

"Are you okay?" I looked up and saw Avery bending over above me. Why was Avery here? Where was here?

"Shit!" I fell asleep on the bench last night, I was still at the sports center. I put my head down and rubbed my forehead.

"What are you doing here?" Avery looked confused.

"I fell asleep here last night. Shit." I grabbed Avery's hand and stood up.

"What were you doing here last night? Didn't you go home with Shawn?" He looked down into my eyes.

"I got mad at him so I got out of the car. Then I came here and realized I didn't have any way to call anyone. But then he drove away, I was going to walk home, but then I guess I sat on the bench and fell asleep." I rubbed the back of my head, I probably scared everyone at home.

"He just left you here?"

"I told him to go, I told him I would call my sister." I wasn't sure why I was defending him.

"So! He left without even making sure you had a way home! Who knows what could have happened to you? You could have been raped, or murdered! He's so stupid!" He was changing colors.

I laughed, knowing that if anyone even attempted stuff like that I would crush them, "Calm down Avery, look at me, I'm fine."

"Dylann?" I heard Shawn's voice. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember? You left her here last night, she didn't have any way to get home. Are you really that stupid? She's been here all night. I had to walk into practice and find her here sleeping. You know some of the perverted guys that come here…"

Shawn came over to me, "I'm so sorry, I thought you had a ride, you said you could call your sister. I'll take you home now."

"Guys, chill out, I'm fine. You have practice, I can just use one of your phones to call my sister."

"Okay," Shawn gave me his phone, Nessie's number in there as mine. I called it, but it went straight to voicemail.

"It went to voicemail, she's in school. I don't know anyone else's number." I handed him back his phone.

"I'll take you home." Avery grabbed my jacket from the bench and looked at Shawn, "Tell coach I'll be little late because your scum."

Avery was being awfully protective. I hadn't even spent a whole day with him, it was flattering though. He needed to take it a notch down, they both did. I would be fine walking, although I knew they wouldn't let me, they thought I was a regular human girl.

"No, Avery, you go to practice. I'll wait here until your done, then you can take me, okay?" I didn't want him getting in trouble, "They're all in school anyway."

"Alright, come on." He gestured to the building.

"I should probably wait here, you're probably not supposed to have anyone there." I could tell by the look on his face that I was right.

"No, it's fine, I'll talk to him." He said.

I followed him and Shawn inside. They went to where a group of boys were standing. I saw an aged black man standing by the group, looking at something on his clip board.

"Wait here." Avery told me before walking with Shawn over to the coach. They talked to him and he looked over at me. He shook his head, but Avery continued, pointing at Shawn. I could have heard them from where I was, but I just ignored it.

Avery walked back over to me, "You can stay here, just go through those doors, sit anywhere you'd like. Practice will last about two hours, are you hungry?"

I looked down at my stomach and realized I was, "No."

He shook his head and sighed, "Here, there's a little food counter over there, but it doesn't open until 10:00." He handed me twenty dollars.

"Thank you, Avery. For everything." He had saved my night, now he was saving my day.

"No problem." He smiled, "By the way, I broke up with Hailey last night, thanks for the advice."

I laughed, "I'm surprised you needed any advice, that girl was horrible."

I walked to the double doors, "Here." Shawn handed me his phone, "In case she calls."

I grabbed it and nodded, I pushed past him with out saying anything, through the doors. It was a big hockey arena, I went up some stairs to the middle of the bleachers and sat down. I yawned and realized I was still really tired.

I heard a door open and saw Avery come onto the ice in skates, "Dylann." I went to the little door that opened to the ice. "Here's my ipod, incase you get bored."

I took it from him, he leaned in closer, "So, that was really your first date, ever?"

I laughed and nodded, "Yeah."

"Pretty crappy, maybe your second will be better." He winked and skated away.

I smiled, was that a wink? Did he mean he wanted to go on a date…with me? I took his ipod touch and went back to the spot where I had been sitting.

"Oh, Dylann!" I heard him yell so I turned to him, "I'm number 12! Shawn is number 2!" He yelled before going back through the door he came from.

I put my jacket on the bleacher, put the headphones in and lied down. I angled my knees up and clicked a button on the ipod. The screen lit up, I slid the 'slide to unlock' icon to the main screen. I hit the music icon and there was a song on pause, Piano Man by Billy Joel. Probably the last thing I envisioned to be on this ipod.

I pressed play and turned the music all the way up, zoning everything out so that I could think. I hoped the family wasn't worried, although I'm sure they were. I really wished Nessie could pick up her phone, so she could at least know that I was coming back.

I wasn't sure what to think about my situation with Avery. I liked him, a lot, but I didn't really want to pursue it romantically. I really just wanted to stay friends, he seemed like he could be a wonderful friend. But I wasn't so sure about him being a good boyfriend, what if he just dropped me when something prettier came along.

I really hoped he just wanted to be friends as well, though I could tell he wanted more than that. I would just have to be honest with him, he seemed easy going, I hoped he'd just except it.

An unfamiliar song came on, I didn't bother checking to see what it was. I yawned, I was still really tired, I wondered if it would be rude of me to fall asleep. I needed to get up and walk around, or I would definitely fall asleep. I grabbed my jacket and walked out of the arena. I checked the time on the ipod, 9:45.

I looked around for something to do, I saw the doors to the public skating arena, it was open. I went through the door, there was no one on the ice, but there was a person working at the counter. I walked over to the woman, she looked like she was in her late twenties, "Is this rink open?"

"Yes." She was kind of snippy.

"Okay, can I have some skates, size six." I handed her the twenty, she gave me some clean, white skates and $10. I took them to a bench and sat down. I slipped on some socks I had brought last night then put the skates and my jacket on.

There was still no one on the ice, this would be fun. I put his headphones back in, zipped the ipod in my jacket pocket, and stepped onto the smooth, unused ice. The oval shaped rink looked a lot bigger when I was the only one on it. I got up some speed, the wind felt good on my face, refreshing.

Without thinking about it, I leapt into the air and did a little twirl before landing on my right foot. I smiled, that was fun. I pushed so I was going faster than last time, I pushed off and went higher into the air. I twirled three times before touching down, one foot on the ice, one straight out behind me.

I giggled, this was really fun. I did a figure eight through the whole oval and then went around it backwards. I got up some speed, then pushed with my left foot, so I was spinning on the ice with my right leg. I arched my back and leaned back, sticking my arms out.

When I lost speed I pulled up and skated around the oval, gaining more speed. I had to be careful to stay human speed, so I wouldn't freak people out. I did more leaps and spins, pushing myself harder and harder each time. Testing to see how much I could do before I would fall. I never did. I knew the time was passing me fast, I wished it would just stop.

I felt so carefree on this ice, it felt almost magical. My body just knew what to do, it was all instinct. The wind whipped through my hair as l jumped up through the cold, icy air. I was up to four spins in the air, it felt like hours had passed.

I knew his practice would be over soon so I pushed myself harder. I wanted to get to five spins before I had to leave. I went around the oval twice, until I felt like I had enough speed to propel me through the air.

I pushed off, pulled my arms in, and counted the spins as I did them. I was moving fast, I counted them and smiled when I landed, six spins. I heard clapping, I looked up and saw Avery skating to me.

His mouth was moving, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. I laughed and pulled out my head phones, "What?"

He laughed, "That was amazing, I didn't know you could skate!"

I smiled, "Neither did I, it just kind of came easily."

His eyes were wide, "That's awesome Dylann, it must be your calling." he winked and we laughed. "Guess what."

"Hmm?"

"You missed seeing me hit Shawn with the hockey stick right in the balls." He laughed really hard and I joined in.

"Damn."

We skated off the ice and changed our skates. We left the center and I followed Avery to his car, an all black Charger. I got in on the passenger side and he on the driver's side. I pulled off my jacket, his car was really hot. He ignited the engine and ripped out of the almost empty parking lot.

I realized I had Shawn's phone in my pocket, "I still have Shawn's phone."

"I'm in the same dorm as him, a room across from him. I'll give it to him." He held his hand out for the phone.

I handed it to him, "Your in college?"

He laughed, "Yeah, I'm 22 Dylann."

"Oh." Neither him nor Shawn looked their age. They both looked eighteen. I looked over and he rolled down his window then threw something out. "What was that?"

He laughed, "Shawn's phone. I'm still pissed at his ass."

"Avery!" I couldn't help but laugh, I was still pissed at Shawn too. That was probably a little uncalled for though.

"He would just be harassing you, he talked about you all during practice. It was really annoying, when do I turn?" He asked referring to the route to my home.

"Not for a while. What was he saying?" I asked.

"He was mad at me for ruining your date, and he wanted to take you out again. He said he really liked you, that he would text you until you agree to give him another chance." He chuckled, "He's pathetic."

I laughed, "Okay, well for one, that's not even my number, its my sister's. And I would have never given him another chance, he's a jerk. Also you _did_ ruin our date, but I'm so thankful you did. Oh, and by the way, Shawn gave me the hat, he had one on too. When he saw you I guess he took it off, leaving me looking like the dork." "I know." He smiled.

"What? Then why'd you ask me about it?"

"It was something to talk about, I was having trouble thinking of something to ask you, and I wanted to see what you would say." He laughed, "Plus I knew if I embarrassed you enough about it you would take it off."

I laughed, "Turn here." I saw the entrance to the drive way and pouted.

He pulled in and put the car in park, "Since I saved your night, you owe me. So can I have _your _number?"

"I would give it to you, but I actually don't have a phone, I'm going to get one sometime this week."

"Well, then I'll give you mine, you have to promise to text me." He gave me a very convincing half-smile. Now I knew he liked me.

"Umm, Avery."

"Yeah?" He was totally unaware of how I felt about him.

"I think that we should just, stay friends." I said it slowly, each word I said made his face droop further down.

"Did I creep you out or something?" He was sincere.

I laughed and smiled, "No, I just think it would be better."

He nodded, "Alright, friends?" He held out his hand.

I grabbed his hand, "Friends." He pulled my hand, bringing my face to his.

I gasped when he smashed his lips on mine. I just sat there, I had no idea what to do, this was my first kiss. He put his hand under my chin before pulling away, "First kiss?"

I bit my lip and grabbed my jacket. "Just tell me your number." I didn't want to admit it, though I was sure he could tell by the way I sat there like and idiot.

He told me it before I got out of the car. "Bye Dylann!" He yelled out his window before backing out of the drive way.

I was sure that I was pink, blushing from the way I had reacted to his lips. I walked up the steps to my house. I didn't bother knocking, if they were home they would have heard me coming.

When I entered I saw Renesmee coming at me. She wrapped her arms around me "Where have you been"?

I pulled away, "It's a long story, I-"

She cut me off, "Explain later, you have like five minutes to go upstairs and pack a weeks worth of clothes."

"_What?_" She was confusing me. Why was I packing?

"Just do it, all your things are in Alice's room, use this." She handed me large pink suitcase.

I ran, vampire speed, up to Alice's room and packed all the clothes I had into the suitcase. I went across the hall to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush. I really wanted to take a nice hot shower, but I guess there wasn't time.

I zipped up the suitcase and dragged it down with me. Nessie, Jake, and Emmett were by the door, they had suitcases too. Emmett's phone rang and he pulled it out, "It's Edward! We have to get out of here." He laughed.

They opened the door and Nessie grabbed my hand, dragging me along with them. We came to a forest green Jeep Rubicon that didn't have the top on. We all put out things in the back. Emmett sat up front with Jacob, while I sat in back with Nessie.

When we were on the road I turned to Nessie, "So what's going on? Is everything okay?"

She laughed, "Yeah, were going to Forks."

I pulled my eyebrows together, "What's Forks?"

Nessie laughed, "It's where I was born, it's where Jacob's pack is, it's where we're going!"

"Okay, so then why are we rushing to get there?" If it was just a little vacation, then why did I only have five minutes to pack?

"Well, my dad wouldn't let us go if he knew. We all go to school together, and he would catch on that he couldn't hear our thoughts. We had my mother… distract him, but he just realized we were gone. Which means he's going to come looking for us." She laughed, "It was Jacob's brilliant idea. His pack brother Embry and his fiancé are getting married next week."

"Hey, I helped plan the escape!" Emmett yelled.

I laughed, "I didn't pack anything elegant enough for a wedding."

"We're going shopping later. Now, why were you out all night?" She asked.

I pushed my hair out of my eyes, but it went right back, my hair would be a mess by the time I got to the airport. "I think we all know what Dylann was up to last night!" Emmett yelled.

I hit his shoulder playfully, "It wasn't anything like that."

"Sure, sure." Jacob looked at me, then Emmet and laughed.

I sent them all the story of everything that happened last night and this morning, leaving out the kiss because I knew Emmett and Jacob would make fun of me. "I wish I could have been there to see you fall on your ass, and see you yell at that Shawn dude! I can't imagine you being that crazy!" Emmett yelled.

"I wish I could have been there to see you sleeping all huddled up on the bench, I can only imagine the pranks I could have pulled on you!" Jacob and Emmett laughed.

"I should have thought to see if you were at the sports center." Renesmee put her hand on my arm, _Do you like Avery?_

_Only as a friend, I think._ After kissing him, or more him kissing me, I didn't know how I felt about him.

She gave me a weird look, like she was analyzing my face for any clues as to how I really felt about Avery. I looked away and saw the airport in the distance. "Will I have time to change clothes before we get on the flight?"

"Yeah, but you should get out what you want to wear right now." She grabbed my suit case for me from the back.

We pulled it up and unzipped it. We were careful not to let anything fly out, I just grabbed something right off the top. She zipped it back up and threw it to the back of the jeep. When we got to the airport Nessie and I went ahead to the building while Jake and Emmett grabbed all the bags.

Nessie told me that we had to be at our gate by 12:00, it was 11:30 now. We rushed to a bathroom so I could change. It wasn't until I got to the bathroom that I could see what I had grabbed from the bag.

It was a pink and gray plaid tube top with a sweat heart bust line. It fitted tightly over my chest, but loosely over my waist and stomach. Over that I had a elbow length sleeved, pink cardigan that hung open in the front. For bottoms I had light blue colored jean shorts that just covered my butt. I wore the same flats I had on before.

I walked out to where Nessie was and she handed me a yellow leather bag that looked a lot like a backpack. "What is this?"

"I love this bag, but Alice got me a new one in a different color." She turned around so I could see she had one in teal, "So now I'm giving you this one to use. It's great for travel, and stuff. I put some make up in it for you, if you want to put some on?" She handed me the bag.

I smiled, "Thank you, do I have time?"

She nodded and I pulled out some eyeliner, mascara, and eye shadow. I applied it quickly and put it back in the largest compartment. I looked around in the bag at the other things in there, a wallet with a credit card and passport, a little mini staightener, and…a cell phone. I pulled it out, it was an iphone! "Oh my gosh Nessie, thank you for everything!"

She smiled, "It's no problem, I was going to give it to you last night, but you never came home." She laughed.

"I'm sorry. What should I do with these clothes?" Emmett and Jacob were checking our bags right now.

Her eyes drifted to the trash can. My eyes got big, "I like this jacket!"

"Alright keep it, it does get cold in Fork's at night some times. But you don't need the other things, we can always buy more clothes." This family was so wasteful. I threw the clothes in the trashcan anyway, keeping the fuzzy blue jacket.

I put my new bag on my shoulders and followed Nessie out the door. I walked by her side while she talked, "Okay, we all have fake ID's so my dad won't be able to find where we are going, all though I'm sure he'll figure it out. Anyway, you have about three different passports in there, use the one under the name of Anna Fischer."

I nodded and she continued, "We have first class ticket's, I'll be sitting with Jacob, and you with Emmett."

We found the boys and got through security and found our seats on the plane. I sat next to Emmett in the back, Nessie and Jake were three rows in front of us. I pulled out my new phone and turned it on. It had some games on it along with about 1,000 songs from every genre. I went to contacts and saw that I had all my house in it. It also had some people I didn't know: Seth, Jared, Sam, Tanya, Kate, etc.

I would ask Nessie about them later. I added Avery's number in there and texted him, telling him this was my number. A woman came on the intercom and asked if we could buckle our seatbelts and turn off our phones. I pouted, but complied.


	7. Chapter 7

**So, I love this chapter so much and I hope you do too. If you do, maybe you could reveiw:) Love y'all!**

Chapter 5

Emmett and I talked about all our experiences, he told me of all the times his family had been confronted by the Volturi. I told him of my experiences in the coven I had been apart of before. I explained that it was somewhere in Russia, and I had flown over here when I escaped.

I had been all around America, my favorite place was Maine. It had such beautiful scenery. Apparently, for their whole clan Fork's was their favorite place.

We had to land in Nebraska and switch flights. While we were there Jake and I ate from the Starbucks coffee shop, the others said they weren't hungry. We had an hour before our next flight left so I decided to call Avery.

When I turned on my phone I saw that I had two messages, both from Avery. One said: Shawn is pissed. The other: You want to go out tomorrow?

I pouted, I did, and I would have if I was still in New York. I called Avery and he picked up on the first ring, "Dylann! Hey!" I heard a lot of noise in the background.

"Where are you?" I laughed.

"I'm in the game room of my dorm, it gets kind of wild around here." He laughed in his deep voice.

"What did Shawn say?" I asked, referring to his message.

"Oh, he was pissed. He even took a swing at me, he also smashed a lamp in my room."

"Over his phone?" That seemed awful crazy.

"Oh, no, he's not worried about that, he doesn't care. He's got insurance on it, he's getting a new one right now."

"Then why was he angry?" I couldn't think of anything else we had ruined of his.

"Because I kissed you."

"You told him?" I was blushing, Emmett and Jake laughed, I'm sure they could hear the conversation.

"Yeah, I rubbed it in a little. But I had to, he kept telling everyone about you, lying. He said you had fallen hard for him, that you were clingy."

Emmett and Jacob burst out laughing. I got off the bench and walked away from them, "He said what?"

"Yeah, he kept saying you were too needy for him, that he would have to break your heart and end it. Then me and a couple of the guys from our hockey team stepped in and explained what really happened, he flipped." he laughed.

"Good! I can't believe him."

"I know." He paused, "Any way, do you wanna hang out tomorrow?" He asked.

"Umm, I would, but I'm actually in Nebraska right now, and I'm about to leave for Washington. It was kind of a last minute thing, literally!." I laughed.

"Alright then, maybe when you get back?" He sounded disappointed.

Like I would deny him "Sure, sounds good."

"Alright, I'll talk to you later."

I hung up and walked back over to the group. They joked around about my call until we had to leave for the flight. We boarded an identical plane and we had the same set up: me and Emmett, Jake and Nessie.

Emmett talked the whole time, I mostly drowned him out, I wasn't in the mood for his prank stories. I was excited for the week ahead of me, I wanted to see this place. If it was half as exiting as this family made it sound, I was in for a good week.

They talked so fondly of it and its inhabitants, I could tell they all loved Forks more than Rochester. Although, I did feel a bit awkward, like I was intruding. I felt like an outsider, especially with the wedding, I hadn't even met these people.

I hoped we would get along well, hopefully they liked me instantly, like Alice and Renesmee. "Dylann!"

I looked up to Renesmee, "What?"

"Come up and sit with me, I want to tell you about everyone in Forks." She looked anxious, I could tell she was _really_ excited.

I followed her up to the front, Jake and I had switched spots, "Okay, I'm going to tell you about the whole pack, and their imprints. Okay, Sam is the oldest, he imprinted on Emily, they had a son last year, Michael."

I nodded, "Sam, Emily, Michael." She touched my arm and sent me images of each person. "What happened to Emily?" The woman had a scare running down her face.

"Once, a long time ago, before Sam could control his temper he got angry and phased too close to Emily." She pursed her lips.

"Oh my gosh." How horrible it must have been. I can't even imagine, poor Emily. It must be horrible for Sam too though, to have to look at her scars everyday, knowing he put them there, even accidentally.

"Then there's Quil, he imprinted on Claire, Jared imprinted on Kim, they have two daughters: Ayla and Ally, Paul impri-"

I cut her off, "Wait, what is _imprinting_ exactly."

"Oh, it's like when a werewolf, or shape shifter, looks into someone's eyes they know they have to do anything, or be anything for that person. Jacob imprinted on me." She smiled and looked back at him.

"When?" I asked, I knew a bit about imprinting, but not much.

"The day I was born."

"How old was he?" Were they both infants?

"He was like seventeen." I gave her a strange look, "It's not like creepy, when I was young he was a like friend, but now that I'm older we are in love.

"How old is he?" He looked like he was seventeen now.

"25. If he keeps phasing he won't ever age." She made it sound so normal, but I guess it was, _for her_.

"Okay, so Quil and Claire, Jared and Kim with Ayla, and Ally. Are Quil and Jared aging?" If their mates were human then wouldn't they need to age. Again, she sent me images of each person she had talked about.

"Jarred is, he looks his age: 27, but Quil is having troubles with not phasing, so he still looks like he's about 's okay though, because Claire is only like 11, and their still just friends, because she's so young." This was complicated stuff, good thing I had an almost perfect memory. "Then there's Paul and Rachel, Jacob's sister. They are pregnant with their first child, Paul looks about 27, he looks younger than Rachel."

"Paul is with Rachel, who is pregnant. Got it.""Embry and Kara are together, but he didn't imprint on her. That's whose wedding were going to see."

"What if he imprints? Will he still love Kara?"

"Probably, imprinting doesn't always have to be romantic, sometimes you just stay close like friends. Plus, despite how almost the whole pack imprinted, imprinting is very rare, so he may never imprint on anyone."

I nodded, these things were very confusing.

"Then Seth, Collin, and Brady haven't imprinted. They were the youngest to phase. Seth is a really close family friend, we were really close when we lived in Forks. He looks like he is like 19, he has a _lot_ of energy." she smiled, she was remembering something nice by the look on her face.

"Now I have to warn you about a certain person." She sounded serious.

"Who?" The look on her face scared me a bit.

She laughed, "Leah, AKA Seth's evil sister, I just want to warn you to stay out of her way, she's not the most pleasant person."

"Okay, note to self: avoid Leah. Is she a werewolf?" I thought it was only supposed to be boys.

"Yeah, she's the only girl. Mostly I try to avoid her, but it's a bit hard. Her mother married my grandfather a year ago, she lives with them still. I feel so bad for him." She smiled and laughed.

Renesmee continued on with explaining the place and people she was so fond of. She told me about the beaches and their old house. As she talked her face lit up, all the while she touched my arm, sending me images.

When the flight attendant came on the intercom and told us to put on our seat belts Renesmee smiled, "Were here!"

We found our luggage and I followed behind the group toward the big doors of the exit. I jumped when Renesmee screamed and ran to the door. I tried looking past Emmett to see what was going on, but he was too tall.

I pushed past him, "What's wrong?"

Jacob laughed, "That's Seth, she missed him."

He had her in a tight hug, and all though he did look young he looked very mature. He had huge muscles, everywhere, and his face looked more aged than that of a fifteen year old.

She let go of him and turned toward us, "Dylann, come here!" She waved me over.

I walked over and Nessie introduced us, "Seth, this is Dylann, Dylann this is Seth!" She was practically screeching every word through her smiling face.

I went to shake his hand, but he wrapped me in a hug. I barely knew him, but he made me feel like we were old friends. He pulled away, "Nice to meet you."

I laughed and nodded, "It's nice to meet you too."

"I missed you Seth, what are you doing here?" She was whipping out the words.

"I missed you too Renesmee. Jake called me earlier and told me you guys were coming here, so I jumped in my truck and drove all the way here so I could see you guys and meet your new addition." He hugged Ness again, then walked over to the boys.

They all high-fived and hugged, smiling at each other. They talked quietly, I could tell Nessie was listening, but I ignored it. She began jumping up and down, and clapping. She ran over to Jake, "Can I, can I, can I?"

He nodded and she hugged him. I walked over to see what she was so happy about, "What's got you all excited?" I asked her.

"Seth's taking me to the carnival they're having about an hour away." She turned to Seth, "Can Dylann go too?"

He sighed, "My truck only has two seats, maybe we can go tomorrow in Leah's car."

I saw Nessie's face turn down at the news. I laughed, "It's okay, you guys go. I'm a little tired anyway, we can go some other time." I wasn't really too tired, but I didn't want to ruin their day, and its not like I was dying to go to the carnival.

"Are you sure? I mean, we could like squeeze you in, or you could ride in the back!" I could tell she wanted it to be just her and Seth, they needed to catch up with each other, we were only here for a week.

"I'm sure, you two have fun, I'll ride back with the boys."

She nodded and hugged us all before running off with Seth. I turned to the boys, "Well, they're both a little…" I couldn't think of the right word.

"Insane? Crazy? Scary?" Emmett called out every word I felt when I thought of those two together.

Jake and I laughed, "Exactly."

While Emmett called for a rental car, Jake and I went to sit on a bench. "What did it feel like to imprint?"

I was curious because Nessie hadn't described the feeling to me. When I asked he looked very hesitant to answer, "Weird, but a good weird. It was like everything was gone in the world and Nessie was all I had. Like even gravity was gone, Nessie was holding me to the ground. The strangest thing is that I still feel that way, even being away from here now is… torture."

"So its like love at first sight?"

"Sort of, but not really. I did love her, but I didn't feel romantically toward her at all, I just felt like I had to do everything to make her happy. It's almost like being a slave, but I love it. I love making her smile and laugh, she's extremely special to me. I love her more than anything." He smiled then pursed his lips. "It was hard for me to switch from a friend to more. She was only eight, even if she looked and acted older, it felt a little weird at first."

"You have no idea how sci fi that sounds." I laughed.

He laughed, "Yeah, it's all a little strange, but I'm thankful for it. Renesmee means everything to me."

His smile got wide, it was nice how he wasn't embarrassed about how strongly he felt for her. Nessie was a very lucky girl, she had a life filled with love, from her family to her friends here, plus she had Jacob.

"You guys ready?" Emmett was standing in front of us.

I stood, "Yeah."

I was getting really excited, I wanted to meet all the new people. In the back of my mind I was a little nervous, but I pushed that aside. I had a relatively good feeling about this place.

I followed Emmett and Jake out to the huge red four door truck. We put our stuff in the back and got in. Jacob let me sit up front while Emmett drove, once we got on the interstate Emmett blared some song I couldn't identify through the speakers. He sang along and bobbed his head to the beat. I laughed and turned around to see Jake laughing along with me.

I sat back up and set my head against the window, staring at the dark sky above us. Emmet's phone kept going off, I assumed it was Edward, wandering where we were. I felt a little bad, but I was really having fun on the trip so I didn't say anything.

I heard a plop and saw the rain pour down from the blue-grey sky. The rain fell down on the wind shield, making a comforting noise.

I yawned and pulled up my legs and wrapped my arms around them. I let my head fall back against the window and watched the rain splash against the window and roll down, forming an elaborate pattern.

I flew up, what was that noise? I looked around and didn't recognize my surroundings. I heard the noise again and looked around. It was coming from the floor next to me.

I got off the small cot and went to the floor, I lifted up the covers and saw someone underneath. I jumped back and sighed, it was someone snoring. It sounded more like a dog yakking something up.

I rubbed my head and looked at the person, it looked like Embry, one of the wolves, in human form. Where was I? Where were Jake and Emmett? I went to the window and looked outside. I could see that I was on the second story of the house, past their backyard there were lots of trees, beyond that was a beach. I must be near La Push.

The moon was out, it was the only light source, no house lights, no street lights. I could hear people talking down stairs, but they weren't voices I recognize, and I couldn't smell anyone I knew. I looked around the room, looking for a clock.

I couldn't find one, but I saw that I was in some kind of baby room. There was a crib, a rocking chair, and some baby toys. I went over to the crib and saw a baby sleeping, it was Michael, Sam and Emily's child. I assumed that was why Embry was here, to make sure I didn't do anything harmful to the child.

I was back to being watched while I slept. I saw a cell phone charging in the wall and walked over to it, I guessed it was Embry's. I flipped it open and checked the time, it was 12:25 in the morning.

I had slept through the afternoon. _What a great first impression,_ I thought sarcastically.

I went to the door of the room, following the sound of the voices. I was in a hall way, it had lots of pictures hanging up. I saw faces I recognized, some were of the Cullen's, others were of the pack and their families'. I walked down the hall to an indoor balcony over looking their living room, still no people. I walked down the stairs to the left. Their house was really nice, it looked like a log cabin, except a lot larger.

I saw doors to the left and heard the voices. There were three of them, two female, one male. I walked through the swinging doors to where the voices were. When I came in all the talking stopped.

"Umm, hi, I'm Dylann." They all smiled at me.

"Hi Dylann, its so nice to meet you, I'm Emily." Despite her scars, she was beautiful, her smile made me feel so welcome.

They were sitting around a wooden table, a plate of cookies sat in the middle. They all had glasses of milk in front of them. "Renesmee was right, you two do look a lot alike." Sam said.

I smiled, "It was even more canny when I had long hair like her."

They laughed, "Well, join us." Embry's fiancé, Kara held her hand out to the chair next to me.

I took it, "Congrats on your engagement, you must be excited."

"Oh I am," Kara started, "We're having our wedding outside, on a cliff overlooking the beach. Oh, I was supposed to wait for Ness to tell you, but I can't…"

"What?" She looked like she was going to burst.

"Well, I wanted you two girls to be in the ceremony! Would you?" she practically yelled it.

_Me?_ "Sure." It was weird she asked, but I didn't want to hurt her feeling by refusing her offer.

"I know it's weird of me to ask, but I needed another girl to walk with Brady down the isle." She must have seen a weird look on my face at her request.

"I don't mind, I'm happy I could be of some use." I laughed.

"Okay, we have to get you girls fitted tomorrow, but when Nessie tells you, act surprised." She laughed.

I nodded, "Where is Nessie? And the others?"

"They went to their house about two hours ago. They were going to wake you, but I told them you could sleep here, we figured you'd sleep all night." Sam told me.

I laughed, "I woke up from the snoring."

They all laughed, "Sorry, I know its annoying, his one flaw." Kara joked.

"Well good luck living with that." I joked back.

We laughed, "I even warned him it would wake you, but he was so tired, he told me he needed some sleep. I'm supposed to wake him in about ten minutes, but he needs to sleep. Is it okay if he just crashes here for the night? I have to get home, I have to work at the nursery from 6:00 to 12:00 tomorrow."

"That's fine with us, you go home and get some sleep." Emily patted her arm.

"I think I'm going to go head back to bed, I'm still tired." For some reason I was beat.

"You can sleep on the couch if you don't want to sleep with the snorer." Sam laughed.

I didn't really like sleeping where everyone would easily see me. "I think I'll be alright up stairs."

Kara and I got up from the table, "Just poke him in the arm, it get's him to stop snoring, and he'll sleep right through the touch."

I nodded, "Thanks for the tip."

"Goodnight Dylann, sleep well." Emily smiled.

I went up the stairs, back to the nursery to the cot. I heard the loud snoring from outside the door. I walked in and closed the door behind me. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I walked over to the source of noise and poked his arm.

He jerked awake and sat up, "What the?" His groggy voice asked.

"I'm sorry, Kara told me poking you would make you stop snoring." He rubbed his head and laughed.

"It's alright, you jus-" His eyes met mine, and his voice stopped.

I looked into his eyes and lost the world around me. I couldn't, wouldn't look away from his dark brown eyes. He reached out and grabbed my hand, "You're Dylann, right?"

I nodded, I knew what had just happened, but I couldn't find the word to describe it in my foggy mind. His thumb stroked my hand as he stared at me. Where he touched me I felt warmth, it ran through my body, making it hard to concentrate on the situation.

What had happened? The word Jake had used, Renesmee had used. I dug through my brain, trying to figure out what had happened. _Imprint._

I gasped and pulled my hand away, "Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no, n-"

"What?" He seemed more confused by the situation then me.

I couldn't tear my eyes away. Although I felt good I knew this was wrong, all wrong. He was scheduled to be married in a week, I was scheduled to be in his wedding. Kara was nice, wonderful, I couldn't do this.

How nice would people think I was when they knew I had taken Embry from his fiancé? I didn't want to do this…but I did. I felt good here, staring into his eyes, in my element. I wanted to reach out to him, but I refrained.

I could practically see the gears turn in his head and the light bulb flick on as he realized why I had pulled away. He pushed his hand through his knotted hair, but didn't look away. "But Kara." Was all he said.

I was finally able to tear my eyes away from his. I rubbed my eyes and looked back at him. He was still staring at me, a dazed look clouding his gorgeous brown eyes. He stood up and rubbed his face, "Great."

I could tell he was being sarcastic, but I thought I heard a hint of happiness in his voice. It was how I felt, this situation was so bitter sweet. We had just found our soul mates, but he was already in love with another girl. A girl that had been so kind to me, a girl that had made me feel welcome.

He started to pace across the floor, I just sat on the cot, watching him. He occasionally looked over to me, pausing in his steps for a brief moment in time. Like a look in my eyes stopped him.

I don't know how long he did that, minutes, hours? I wasn't sure. It seemed the more he paced, the lower his face got. I couldn't take it anymore, this wasn't what should have happened. Nessie had said that sometimes imprints just stay friends, maybe that's what was supposed to happen with us.

I got up and stepped in front of him, I stopped him in his tracks. I had to tilt my head up to be able to see his eyes. He looked so confused, I had a feeling I looked the same way to him. He bent down so his face was closer to mine, he stared intently into my eyes.

He looked away for just a split second, and then I felt his hand in my hair, gripping the back of my head. I knew what was coming, I knew we shouldn't, but I also knew I wanted him to continue, very much. I kept my hands at my sides, not really knowing what to do with them.

He ducked in a little more, I tried lifting my head, but his hand under my chin beat me to that. The moment his lips caught mine I felt a fire start inside me. It was like someone had taken a match to a forest that had been dried. I felt the fire run through me.

As his lips moved I felt mine uncontrollably moving with his. It was different then with Avery, I held my own. I kissed him back and it was almost all… instinct, it felt right.

One of his hands made it was under my shirt and rested on my hip. I shivered at the touch, though it was the hottest touch I had ever experienced, in more ways than one.

I moved my hands to his neck and we got closer. I felt my breast being crushed into him, and he moaned. I could feel twitches beginning within him. It felt so right, but it wasn't. I shouldn't be the one that does that to him, it should be the girl waiting at home for me.

It was me who pulled away, he had the same stunned look on his face from when I had pulled my hand away. His hands were still on my face, "Your engaged." Was all I said.

He nodded and closed his eyes. He shook his head, "That doesn't change what just happened."

"Well, Renesmee told me that sometimes when people imprint… they, they don't always," It was hard to put the words out there, painful, "We don't have to," I wasn't sure how to say it, I felt the tears began to pool in my eyes "It doesn't have to be… romantic."

"But it can be, if that's what you want, if that's what you need. So what do you need to happen here?" His eyes burned through me.

"I need," _You! _"A friend."

He knew it was a lie, I saw it in his face. He saw right through my weak lie, but he choose to believe my words. That was a good thing, but its not what I really wanted. "Okay." He hugged me, "Then lets keep this between us?"

I nodded against his shoulder, his hand stroked my hair. We stood there for a long time. I let a few tears sneak out, because he couldn't see my face. This was the right thing to do, I think. Staying friends was the least complicated thing to do.

It's not like I would have to see him that much, we lived in New York, across the country, maybe we could just forget it happened, was that at all possible?

He pulled me tighter before pulling away. He reached out and rubbed my cheeks, pushing tears away. Maybe the tears weren't as sneaky as I had thought they were. "I'll see you later, alright?"

I nodded and turned away as he left through the door.

**Umm, wow! Embry's POV next chapter, excited? Me too! I know you want to reveiw, dont you? Please!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! So this is Embry's POV, i hope you enjoy! As always I do not, will not, and have not ever owned anything form the Twilight Saga.**

Chapter 6

Embry's POV

I couldn't believe it, I just couldn't. I had finally imprinted, and I was about to be married in less than a week, the wedding was Friday! But it was what Dylann had wanted, for us to stay friends.

Alright, so I knew that wasn't true, I saw her tears, heard her voice falter when she said the words. I knew she felt the exact way I did about her, she loved me. But I loved Kara, so much. More than anything, well it used to be that way.

I cared for that beautiful half bloodsucker more, so much more. She was the one I wanted to be driving home to, she was the one I wanted to be living with. But that wasn't reality, that was fantasy. I was getting married to Kara, maybe Dylann was right, maybe we could just be friends.

That had to be how it happened. I couldn't hurt Kara, no matter how much I wanted this to be Dylann I still loved Kara. Kara was the reason I was who I was. She was the one that opened my shell, she was the one who helped me tell my mother I was a shape shifter. Without Kara I wouldn't be the man I was today.

So how could I tell her, on the week of our wedding, that I had imprinted. I knew she would understand, we had talked about it. She had told me if I ever imprinted that she would understand that it wasn't something I couldn't control. She told me honestly that it would hurt her, but because she loved me she would let me go with the one I was destined to be with.

I had told her there was no way I could ever need anyone more than I needed her, well I was wrong, so wrong. This was so twisted, I knew Kara inside and out, I knew her every like, her every dislike, her every quirk, her every fear and flaw. I knew nothing about the stranger I suddenly loved, the stranger I loved more than my own fiancé.

I wished Dylann had just said the needed me. Maybe then I could have been a man and stood up to my feelings. I needed to tell Kara, I couldn't go into this marriage loving another woman, it would be so unfair to Kara.

But maybe if I could just focus on Kara then Dylann and I could just be friends. It had to be that way, everyone would be better off. Except the crying girl I just left behind, I sighed as I pulled into the driveway of mine and Kara's new house.

I left my car and went over to the small two bedroom house Kara and I owned together. All the lights were out, but the moon was bright over head. I walked to the front door and entered into the living room, crossed through that, then walked the small hall to our room.

I opened the door quietly and crossed the room to the bed. Kara was sleeping on her little side of the bed, squished into a small ball. I climbed in as quietly as I could and pulled the covers over to me, covering Kara up as well.

She stretched out and turned to me. "Your home?"

I nodded, "I woke up and decided to come home."

She smiled, "I missed you, I can't wait until Friday!"

"Me too." I gave her a little smile and she pouted at me.

"What's wrong baby?" She rolled closer and put her head on my chest. Her long dark brown hair fell around me, "You okay?"

I nodded, but the truth was no, I wasn't okay. I should tell her what was going on, but I just couldn't. She was so happy, about everything. I couldn't, wouldn't be the person to take that shining smile from her face.

"I'm just a little tired, that's all." I smiled, easing the crease of her forehead.

She laughed, "Your snoring woke that girl, what's her name?"

"Dylann." I answered her, a pain staking through my chest as I said her name.

"Yeah, she's so sweet. I forgot to tell you, her and Renesmee are going to be in the wedding."

Oh great, that would be just what I needed, having them both at the wedding. It was already going to be hard to say 'I do' without my imprint standing a few feet away. "I thought we had everything all planned out?"

"Well we did, but Brady didn't have anyone to walk down the isle with, and I figured maybe Renesmee and Jake could walk down too. You don't care, do you?"

I shook my head, "No, no, whatever makes you happy." I sounded dazed, I hoped she would pass it off for being tired.

She smiled and snuggled into my arms, "I love you Embry."

"I love you too, so much." I felt a sharp pain in my chest, those words were meant for another girl. Before tonight, holding Kara in my arms had been my favorite thing, one of my most cherished moments. So why didn't it feel as special anymore?

I closed my eyes and ignored the feeling picking at me. I wrapped Kara tighter in my arms and kissed the top of her head. I heard her giggle and snuggle in closer to my chest. I drifted off into a painless, dreamless sleep.

"Embry!" I heard a voice call, followed by weight on my stomach. "Wake up you sleepy head!"

I opened up my eyes and saw Kara straddling me. I stretched out and looked back up to her, "What time is it?"

"Just about two o'clock. I'm already back from the dress fittings for Ness and Dylann. We have the rehearsal dinner tonight, so you can't sleep all day!" She yelled, and bent down and kissed my chest.

"Alright." I sat up and she rolled off me. I bent over and tickled her stomach. She laughed and begged for me to stop. I traced her body with my hands up to her face. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.

The magic between us had shrunk. I wasn't surprised, these lips were no longer meant for Kara. I kissed her harder, trying to feel the passion I had always felt when our lips touched. Did this feel different for Kara too?

The passion was there, but it was smoldered with something. Some emotion within me told me it was wrong to be touching Kara. I ignored it, I loved Kara, I knew I did. I pulled away and jumped off the bed.

She sat up, "I love you Embry."

I smiled, "I love you." I kissed the top of her head and walked over to my dresser. I pulled out a pair of jean shorts and put them on.

I didn't bother with a shirt, "I'm going for a run."

She nodded, Kara had found out I was a shape shifter almost 8 months ago. But it wasn't too big of a shock, Collin and Brady were her brothers and she had known about them for a while. She was a little shocked to discover I was one, she also thought it was cool. That had thrilled me, I had been worried she would run away screaming. But she didn't, Kara loved me, all of me.

I walked out the door and ran to the woods near our house. I undressed and put my clothes near a tree, I would come back to this spot after running. I phased into my wolf form, and took off running.

It felt freeing, as if when I phased all the complicated thoughts going through my head just vanished. It was an awesome feeling. Unfortunately that didn't last long

As I thought about Kara I felt a new thought pass into my brain. Dylann. Everything from the night before flooded into my head before I could control it. I shook me head, in an attempt to forget the thought.

_Oh no, Embry, you didn't._

Damn, Jake had phased just in time to hear what was on my mind. All of our minds were linked together when we were in our wolf form. It came in handy when tracking the enemy, not so much when you needed privacy.

_Get out of my head Jake. And don't you dare say a word or so help me I- _He cut me off.

_Embry! You can't marry Kara if you imprinted! Its not fair to her or Dylann. I guess this explains why Dylann was acting so weird today_. He thought about what Dylann had acted like earlier that morning. She barely said a word, and every time something about the wedding or me and Kara came up, which happened a lot, she bit her cheek and tightened her little hands into fists.

_It's what she wanted_. _Anyway, you need to stay out of this, phase back. _He had no idea what I was going through.

_That's such a lie, you know she feels like shit. I have no idea how you can stand seeing her like that, if Nessie was that upset I would-_

_Shut up Jake. _If he refused to phase, then I would. I ran as fast as I could back to my clothes and phased.

I got dressed and started walking back to the house. I went inside, slamming the door behind me. I looked into the living room and froze. Kara was with all of the bridal party, _all _of the damn bridal party.

Dylann was sitting on the floor next to Nessie, staring back at me. Her eyes were big, staring right back at me. I couldn't draw my eyes away, she looked gorgeous. Her short blonde hair was curled perfectly. She wore a loose yellow shirt and jeans that clung tightly to her small body.

I tore my eyes away from her, "Get out of here Embry! This official bridal stuff! No boys aloud!"

All the girls laughed and I mumbled an apology before walking out the door. I walked out to my car and punched the door, it left a small nick in the medal, nothing too noticeable.

Why? Why was this happening? I fall in love with this amazing girl, then just right as I'm about to seal the deal, I imprint. What if Jake was right? What if I marry Kara and we can't be happy? I didn't even see how that was possible, I was always happy when I was with Kara.

"I guess I forgot to tell you that all the girls were going to your house." I heard Jake yell over to me.

I turned to him and glared. He was smiling, I guess this was amusing to him. I got in my car and he got in the passenger side. "Lets go to Sam's." He said.

"No, I don't want him in this too." I growled, I started the car and ripped out of the driveway.

"Too late." He snickered and I sighed.

"God damn Jake. Can't you keep you fucking mouth shut for two_ fucking_ minutes?" I drove in the direction of Sam's house, I had to explain my side of the story.

"So you're really going to go through with marrying Kara?" He asked.

"Yes Jake, I am. Not that it should be any of your business." He laughed when I said it.

"Don't you think that will kill Dylann, or do you even care about her feelings?" He was so accusing.

"Shut up Jake!" Of course I cared about her.

"You can't just ignore how you feel about her. Sam had to make the same decision, you'll have to face the fact that you love Dyl-"

"Shut up Jake! You're right, I do love Dylann. But I love Kara too! Why should Kara be the one who ends up hurt?" I yelled.

"Because she'll find another person to love, Dylann won't. And you'll never be able to fully love Kara, but you and Dylann would be happy together, it's meant to be." I hated to admit it, but he had a point.

Maybe this was meant to be. But I just couldn't hurt Kara, I couldn't. Didn't that show that maybe I was supposed to be with her, and _not _Dylann. I turned into Sam's driveway and parked the car.

He and Emily came out, Michael was in Sam's arms, sleeping. What_ was this? An_ _intervention? _Couldn't they just let me deal with my own problems. This was ridiculous, so what if Sam left Leah for Emily, that didn't mean that was right for everyone. Plus, Leah got all bitter afterwards, I didn't want that to happen to my Kara.

We all walked down to the beach, it was quiet until Emily broke the silence. "How are you doing, Embry?"

"I'm fine." I know I was being rude, I would need to apologize to Emily later, she only meant well.

"Embry, we're only trying to help, I've been through the same situation." Sam got harsh with me because I was rude to Emily.

"I know, but why does that mean I have to make the same choice as you? Am I _not _aloud to make my own fucking decisions? We have already decided on what to do. You don't have to intervene!"

"Do you even care about how this effects Dyl-" Sam raised his voice to mine.

"Yes, I do. I know it hurts her, and that kills me. But do any of you care about how Kara feels?" Why was I the only one thinking about her feelings?

"You need to calm down, Embry. We do care about her feelings, and the longer you wait, the more it will hurt Kara." Emily was using a soothing voice.

"What if I choose Kara. Maybe that's what's best. Maybe Dylann will find happiness with someone else."

"She won't! And you will never be fully happy with Kara, which will make her unhappy." Jake yelled.

"I love Kara!" I growled at him. I felt myself shaking, a sign that I would phase soon. I turned away from them and ran down the beach so I could calm down. I climbed up a rocky path up to a cliff overlooking the gray water.

I sat on the edge and watched the waves roll to the shore. The sky was gray, it mirrored the color of the water. I sat there for a long time, I watched the group disappear into the trees, heading back to Sam and Emily's house.

I don't know how long I sat there, thinking about Dylann and Kara. I couldn't change what happened, and I needed to seriously think about which girl I loved most, who I needed, who needed me. And what choice would be best for everyone.

I saw a flash of yellow out of my right eye and looked down. I saw Dylann walking alone on the beach, arms crossed. I wandered if someone had called her and told her to come find me, it seemed likely.

She pulled something out of her back pocket and held it up to her face. She put headphones in her ears and sat on the sand. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

I felt it start to rain lightly, she just sat there, it didn't bother her. She lied down, face toward the sky, letting the rain sprinkle on her face. I moved under a tree, where the rain barely hit me, but I could still see her. She was completely still, apart from the rise and fall of her chest.

She suddenly sat up and pulled out the iphone. She held it up to her ear, "Hey."

"What time?" She asked to the receiver. "Okay."

She hung up the phone and stood up. "Great! Just _fucking_ great!" She screamed so loudly I was sure Emily and Sam could hear from their house. "The damn wedding rehearsal! I can't _fucking_ wait!" Sarcasm was heavy in her voice.

She picked up a rock a threw it far out into the water, then kicked sand into the air. She groaned loudly and walked to a boulder sitting on the sand near the water and punched it, she kicked it and grunted.

As the kicking and punching slowed her grunts became sobs. She turned, her back to the boulder and leaned against it. She put her hands over her head and slid down the boulder until she was on the ground.

Her legs were up to her chest and she sat her head against it. I heard her crying and saw her shaking with sobs. She was wet from the rain, which was coming down harder. I wanted to go down and comfort her, but I was worried she would be embarrassed from me seeing her fit.

I didn't care, I stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff. Just as I was about to step onto the small rocky path I saw someone start running to her. It was Jake, he went up to her and kneeled in front of her.

She looked up to him and threw her small arms around his neck. He hugged her, rubbing her back with his hand. That should be me down there comforting her. Jake looked up at me and glared, I didn't have to read his mind to know what he was thinking. I knew it would be something along the lines of, _Yeah, she's not in any pain at all._


	9. Chapter 9

**I know I haven't updated in so long, but I have a reason. My laptop broke and I lost this story, which I had nearly complete. So I had to start over from here. Anyway, thanks to all that reveiwed, it means a lot and is amazing inspiration when writers block ensues. I hope you enjoy the chapter, I promise to update again soon!**

Chapter nine

Today had been hell, is hell, all of it. Jake, Nessie, and Emmett came back in the morning and I had to suffer through every fucking comment about Kara and Embry. All the stories, all the memories, all the dumbass wedding details.

And if that wasn't enough to drive me crazy, I had the dress fitting, and to top it off, a little party at Kara and Embry's house. A party at which he decided to barge in on and give me a stare that made me want to kill myself right then and there.

Thankfully no one noticed it, just me. I couldn't take this, I wanted to escape, and I wanted to run. I wanted a reverse button, I wanted to go back and decline the Cullen's offer to stay with them.

I walked slowly down the beach, looking up at the sky that mocked my feelings in side, dark and gloomy. I sighed and whipped out my iPhone and put on some music in an attempt to lose myself. I sat with my legs tucked against my chest, arms wrapped around them.

The feeling of complete anguish that came from my chest was enough to drive me bonkers. This was just completely insane and erratic, the whole situation was twisted. What was the point of a dumb imprint if all it did was complicate things and cause pain?

Some part of me wanted to be optimistic, the pessimistic side however, wanted to stomp down that part. _It'll all work out, love conquers all…_ _Yeah, unless he's already engaged to a much prettier human, a creature who isn't his natural enemy. _

Just when my life was finally coming together, just when I was happy, I had a family, I had a normal life, and I had a feeling of satisfaction. I heard thunder ripple through the clouds as rain hit my face. _That's right, bring it on. _Rain was the least of my worries right now…

Oddly enough, the rain was effective at calming me. But try as I may, I couldn't get that terrible feeling out of my chest. What if I hadn't met the Cullen's, what if I would have just declined the offer to stay?

Maybe I wouldn't be so broken right now. Or maybe I would have just met Embry some other way, maybe this was meant for me…Or, or maybe I could've avoided this whole mess.

I was so sick of the word maybe; I could apply it to any situation in life and feel just as lost. It's a dumb word, all it does is sit in your head and fill your heart with doubt and confusion.

A vibration from my iPhone caused me to shoot up into a sitting position. I saw Renesmee's picture on the screen and pressed the little green icon. "Hey."

She was as bouncy and giddy as ever, but now all it did was piss me off. "Dylann! Where are you? We have the rehearsal dinner tonight!"

_Yippidy fucking do dah! __Just what I wanted to do tonight._ "What time?"

She paused, clearly not understanding my less than enthused tone. "It's at six, we have to leave in two hours, but I need some help. Emily asked if we could bring a side or something. Uncle Emmett wont help and Jake's running with the pack, please come now?"

I knew she could cook a damn side all by herself; she was a fucking big girl. _Don't be mad at her._ My conscience was right; Renesmee hadn't done anything to me. However, all I wanted to do was lay in the rain until someone forced me to leave.

I guess I would have been waiting a while. Everyone would be too worried about the "happy couple" to care where the fuck useless Dylann was. I know I know, woe is me, boo fucking who, get over yourself. So he didn't choose you, so you have to witness him getting married.

I couldn't change it, I couldn't make him choose me, he was set on her… I sighed quietly and answered Renesmee, "Okay."

She chirped happily, unfazed by anything. "See you soon!"

I hit the "end" icon and stood. "_Great!_ Just _fucking great!_ The damn wedding rehearsal! I'm so _fucking_ excited!"

I didn't care that half of La Push and any werewolf or vampire could hear me. If I wanted to yell, I would fucking yell. If wanted to throw a temper tantrum I sure as hell would throw the biggest damn temper tantrum I could!

I picked up a rock and chucked it as hard as I could into the murky ocean water. I continued by kicking a cloud of sand into the air and walking over to a boulder and continuously assaulted it until I was happy. I threw punches and kicks, grunting the whole time. At some point the grunts became sobs, and my hands began throbbing.

What was I doing? I turned away from the boulder and slid into a sitting position on the ground. I had my hands covering my face, wetting them with my irrational tears. Or maybe they were rational. _Maybe. _Maybe I was just going fucking insane.

I couldn't tell whether my face was wet from rain or tears, probably both. I set my head on my knees and let it all out. I needed this if I was going to make it through the next four days without another mental breakdown where everyone would be watching, including _him._

Thinking of him made me sob even harder. I hadn't even had a normal conversation with this man and I wanted to tear my hair out to distract me from the pain in my chest. Why did this imprint thing have to so fucking strong? Why wouldn't it just let me have a moment of peace?

I felt a hand on my knee and jerked my head up. Jacob was kneeled in front of me with a comforting smile. Comforting enough to make me momentarily _not_ feel like shit. _Well there was a moment, thanks I guess? _

It didn't last long though; the feeling came back stronger than before. I threw my arms around him as he whispered comforting words into my ear. So I guess he found out? If he knew, then who else did?

"I know Dylann. He'll come around. Just hold on…" I already knew I was going to be good friends with Jake, despite how much he hated me in the beginning, he was a good man. I could see it in his face, feel it through his touch, even through his aura.

But I knew, despite my slight optimism, that he wouldn't come around. Embry loved _her_, enough to break my heart consciously. I sniffed and he helped lift me off the ground. I squeezed him tighter again before releasing him. He kept an arm wrapped around me.

I let a sob escape and he stopped us. He set his hands on my shoulder and bent down to stare into my eyes. "Can you do this?"

The fact that he was acknowledging the problem only made me cry harder. If no one else acknowledged it, maybe I could forget it. What happened to not telling anyone? Someone couldn't keep their mouth shut.

When I didn't respond he wrapped me in a hug. "If you want, we'll leave right now. We'll go home and get Nessie and we'll leave, she'd understand. We will do anything it takes to make you feel better."

As enticing as it sounded I knew I wouldn't accept the oh-so-tempting offer. I sighed, that's what I truly wanted; an escape. The fact that my conscience wouldn't let me was extremely frustrating.

I calmed myself down enough so that I could talk. "You have no idea how much I wish I could do that."

He laughed and I looked up to see his smile. "Yeah, but I sort of do, I've gone through something similar…"

How was that? Renesmee was a baby when Jake imprinted. No way was she about ready to be married to some dumb person. He saw my questioning look and chuckled again.

He lowered us down to the sand and I took a seat beside him. He leaned back and used his arms behind him to hold himself up. I watched him stare out to the ocean. He took a moment before explaining what he meant.

"Before Renesmee, I loved another woman." He smiled when my eyes grew. I guess I had just seen how in love he was with Renesmee that I didn't think that he had ever looked at another girl in the same way. "And as weird and fucked up as it sounds… I used to love Bella."

I stared blankly at him. "As in…"

"Yeah, Nessie's mother. You see, long before we settled into the family we are now, well, life was a hell of a lot different. Before Bella met Edward she lived most of her life in Arizona with her mom." I crossed my legs and mimicked Jacob's position; I knew this would be a long story.

"She moved here when she was sixteen to live with her dad, Charlie. I knew her from when we were kids; our dad's were good friends. When I saw her, she was so pretty, and I knew I was going to have a place in her life, at that time I thought that place was her boyfriend." I couldn't even begin to picture Jacob with Bella; the thought was so alien to me.

"Anyway, she met Edward and that was that. But for her own good he left her, which is a whole other story, but she came to me. I helped her; all the while I started developing a huge crush on her. When he came back she chose him over me, of course. But I couldn't take it." Edward left? What was that story?

"I fought like hell for her. She wanted so badly to be a vampire so she could be with Edward forever, but I'm stubborn, and I just wouldn't accept defeat. But there was no swaying her decision." He paused for a moment, sat up, and stared down at his hands. "When I got the invitation to their wedding I bolted. I ran forever, and lived my life fully as a wolf, for so long. It's so much easier to cope when I'm in that form."

He turned to me, "I came back for the wedding, I tried to be happy, I really did, but when she told me that she and Edward were going to have a _real _honeymoon… I couldn't take it, I thought it was so stupid of her. She was putting her life at risk just to get laid."

I giggled at the way he put it. "To get laid?"

"It's true! Maybe that's not the way she'd put it, but I'm happy as hell she did what she did. You see, when they came back and I was told that Bella was _sick_ at the Cullen house, I was sure she had turned into a vampire. I didn't want my best friend to be my enemy; I wanted Bella to stay Bella."

That made since to me I guess, but looking at him, Edward, and Bella now, I couldn't tell there had ever been a triangle between them. "When I got to the Cullen house though, she wasn't sick, she was pregnant. And, she was in terrible condition; she definitely looked like she was ill."

He looked down at his hands again, for a moment I saw a pained look in his eyes. "I wanted to kill it, Edward wanted to kill it, but _it_ was killing _her_, and she was letting it. Edward was even willing to let me… help, if she really wanted a baby. But she wanted _that_ baby, because it was _his_ baby. Bella nearly lost her life, but she was willing to, she always had been for someone she loved. And when I laid eyes on that baby, I was grounded." For the first time in the conversation, Jacob smiled, a full reach-your-eyes, kind of smile. The one that made me feel better.

"Edward was furious with me, but Bella… I think at some point she really considered ending my life." He laughed at my giggle, "It sounds funny now, but I was scared for my life. But all ended well, I would do all the pain a million times over just to have my girl."

We sat there quietly as I mulled over what to say next. "Jake, how did you do it?"

Obviously he had no idea what I meant. "What?"

"How did you manage to be happy for her? How did you go to her wedding?" the real question was: _How am I supposed to be happy for Embry?_

"It's a different situation Dyl, I found the strength because I had to be happy for Bella or I would lose her. Nobody expects you to go to the wedding, not me, not Sam or Emily, not even Embry." When he said his name I felt my heart tear a little more.

I looked him straight in the eye. "Who all knows, Jake?"

He ran his hands through his short hair, "Just Sam, Emily and I. And probably whoever else hears it when we run in wolf form; our minds are interlinked when we're in that form."

I laughed without humor and threw a rock into the ocean. "Just great. Soon I'll be getting _that_ look."

Jake chuckled, "What look?"

"You know, the _I'm so sorry, are you gonna be okay?_" I mimicked the look for him.

"It's better than the look Embry will be receiving. You can be sure of that, I promise to make his life hell until he realizes what he needs to do." He shook his head and threw a rock into the water.

He meant well, but I really didn't want the added drama. "Please don't, I just want to forget it. If he wants her then… I hope they're very happy together."

"You don't mean that one bit Dylann." He caught me.

"I wish I did, and please don't say anything to him, or anyone." He scoffed and began to stand, holding his hand out to me.

I stood and looked him in the eye, which was awkward because of our height difference. "Please Jake."

I saw something change in his eyes as a serious look fell over his face. "I won't, not if you don't want me to."

He held up his pinky and I gave him an odd look. He grinned and held up his hand. "Pinky promise."

I intertwined my pinky with his and giggled. "Pinky promise it is…"

He let my hand go and we walked from the beach together. We went to Sam and Emily's, where I received _the_ look. Jake snickered when Emily wrapped me in her arms. I don't think they realized that this behavior only made me feel shitier. Still, though I had only talked to Emily a few times, I could tell she was an amazing person.

Jake asked kindly if they could keep the imprint to themselves, Sam agreed instantly. But Emily looked nervously at me; I remembered that she and Kara had seemed like good friends the night last night. And I knew I would tell my best friend if her soon to be husband had imprinted.

"Please Emily, please don't tell her. I know I'm asking a lot, but just, leave it up to him…" I felt tears threatening to escape with a stinging sensation.

She looked at me hesitantly; she didn't understand that I _needed_ her to keep quiet. I needed _Embry_ to tell Kara, not Emily, not anyone else. It was up to Embry, even if he chose her, she deserved to know he had imprinted. I knew that much was true, and I knew if he wasn't the one to do it, it would break her heart even more. As much as I irrationally disliked her, I was heartbroken enough for everyone.

She nodded and took one of my hands. "I'm telling her before she marries him; he needs to beat me to it. I can't let her marry him when he's in love with you too."

I sucked in a sharp breath of air, "He's not in love with me."

She shook her head, "Maybe you need to talk to him Dylann, clear the air on a couple issues you seem confused about."

I nodded my head, though I knew I wasn't going to say anything to him. I didn't want to talk to him, and I didn't plan on initiating any conversations. If he didn't want to be with me, then I didn't want to hassle him with my presence.

Of course a part of me did, but I was too angry and upset to listen to that part of myself right now. I saw Jake eye me with a look that told me he thought Emily was right.

"Thanks for the advice." I turned to Jake, "We have to get going, Renesmee asked for some assistance."

Sam offered a ride home, to which Jake agreed to, so we climbed into the small four door car, I sat in the back.

The whole way home I blocked Jake and Sam out as they explained to me why Emily was right almost the entire ride home. I didn't care if she was right, and I certainly wasn't going to listen to her. I could tell they knew I wasn't listening when the conversation slowly trailed off. The rest of the ride home was full of awkward silence, as it should be.

When we got home I thanked Sam for the ride, skipping over my gratitude for the advice, mostly because I didn't like lying to people if I didn't have to. When I walked in the door Emmett was on the phone with Rose, I could tell because she was ranting, and Nessie was somewhere on an upper level.

Jake brushed past me, off to his love. I went straight to the bathroom and took a long shower. I tried as hard as I could not to think about anything, which produced the opposite effect. I thought about everything, I was so thankful that Edward wasn't here until Friday; I had a couple more days of privacy.

I finished getting ready slowly, no need to rush and get there early. I wore a simple blue tank top, with a black jacket over the top of it. Then I picked out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and found some flats and called it good.

I decided against wearing any make up and let my hair dry naturally and put in a black headband. _One party Dylann, one party, three days, a wedding, and then sweet freedom. You can sulk in self pit then, for now, let's just try to get through this. Just take a deep breath and-_

"Dylann!" Renesmee's perky voice interrupted me from my thoughts. I turned to the door and saw her in a dark blue cocktail dress that made her look more mature than she usually did. It flattered all her curves and had a bust line that I knew Jacob would love.

I smiled and told her she looked really good. I smile flashed on her lips as she complemented my attire as well. "Are you okay Dylann?"

I tried to give her a sincere smile. "Of course, I'm just a little tired I guess. It's gonna be a long night of rehearsing to get everything right."

She giggled. "Oh I know, but then we have the bachelorette party!"

As if I was going to spend any extra time with Kara. "I'm not sure I'm really going to feel up to it, I already feel dead on my feet. I might have to pass."

"Oh, you have to go! It will be so much fun." She came close and whispered the next part, "Don't tell Jacob, but we're going to a club, I convinced Emmett to get us both fake I.D.'s. It will be so awesome." Awesome wouldn't be the word I would chose for spending a night with Embry's soon-to-be wife.

"I'll see how I feel…" Thankfully she left it alone.

"Okay, well, I got a dip done; I ended up calling Esme and made Emmett run to the store to buy me what I needed. Jake told me he told you about our story. Isn't it so cute?" Again, not really the word I'd use to describe their story, their _weird_ story.

"Yeah, really cute. You'll have to fill me in on the rest of the story later." So now I had a half hour to kill.

"I can tell you on the plane ride home!" _Oh joy! Something to look forward to!_ I know I was being rude, inwardly, to Nessie, I just wasn't in the mood for a love story.

"Nessie baby, could you help me with this damn thing?" Jacob walked slowly into the room; awkwardly holding out a tie like it could possibly attack him at any moment.

She giggled and ran to him. "Why is it that boys wear these things and can't even tie them?"

"Just so we have another reason to get close to our girls." He kissed her as she reached the tie around his neck.

When their lips didn't separate, I decided to leave. I slipped out my door and walked down stairs. I wasn't quite ready to watch anyone slop all over each other. Actually, I didn't ever want to see Jake and Nessie all over each other, not exactly my cup of tea.

Emmett sat on the couch, still talking to Rose, but the conversation had taken a turn to something far less entertaining. I could tell by Rose's tone that she was no longer angry. Well, now what?

I walked outside and sat on the porch, Forks really was beautiful. It could have been my favorite place, if not for the past twenty four hours. All I could do was go over last night in my head. From beginning to end, I could remember every word and emotion that passed through me.

What a crappy way to meet your "soul mate". Maybe I should just choose to call it all bologna and just move on. As I thought it, something seemed to try to convince me it wasn't just crap. Something in me made me feel the bond; a pull in my chest persuaded me to believe in the bond.

I heard the door open and Emmett walked through the frame. "Hey kid."

"Kid?" He had never called me a kid before.

"Well, you're technically a kid to me." He smiled and sat next to me. "How you doin?"

Oh no, not _that_ look. What the hell Jake? "Did he tell you?"

"If by he you mean Jake, then yeah." He gave me a solemn look, something I had never seen on Emmett's face.

"I really don't want to talk about it. This is why I told Jake to keep his trap shut." I turned and pointed my finger in his face. "Don't you dare say a word to anyone!"

"I won't, but Edward will know, and he'll probably tell Bella, who will probably tell Alice, and so on and so on…" Now he was rambling, at least that look had disappeared from his face.

"Please shut up Emmett. I have to go kill Jake now." I was fucking furious. Make me do the ridiculous fucking pinky swear and then tell Emmett? What the hell? He was probably blabbing the whole story to Ness right now, as if I needed that. "Ugh."

I walked through the door and placed a calm expression on my face. "Jake, Emmett wants to talk to you on the porch." Now to distract Nessie, "Ness, can you please find me some different shoes? Something amazing please?"

Her face lifted as Jake's fell. So he knew? Good, I hope he feels bad. "Sure thing Dylann!" She reached up and kissed Jake. "Be back soon."

I followed Jake to the porch and shut the door behind us. Unfortunately I couldn't yell at him, so I settled for a harsh whisper. "What the fuck?"

"I-"

"No! You promised Jake! I only asked one thing from you! Did it ever occur to you that this isn't the best way to keep a fucking secret? Soon everyone will know, and that's the last thing I wanted. All I want to do is get over this, and all those looks aren't going to help. Why couldn't you just do this one fucking thing?"

I started to cry and his face fell even lower. "I'm sorry, he just, he saw something was wrong and I thought he needed to know…"

"Whatever Jake." I turned away from both of them and crossed my hands. Nessie came down and I instantly changed my expression to start the façade that I wasn't dying inside.

"Thanks so much Ness!" She handed me black stilettos. I quickly changed and through the other pair into the house.

"No problem! Jake, you ready?"

He replied sadly, I knew it bothered Ness in her expression. "Yeah…"

"What's wrong, Jake?" She touched his cheek.

"Nothing… just nervous for the rehearsal…"

She wasn't very good at picking up lies; Jake wasn't even good at lying. Or maybe it felt like that because I knew the truth. "Oh, don't worry honey, you'll do perfectly fine! Kara's just happy we could be there!"

Well, as long as _Kara's_ happy, right? "Let's go."

I walked to the car and got in back. I heard Nessie ask what my problem was… I so wanted to answer snappily, but I refrained. I didn't need another person knowing. I didn't care if she thought I was being a bitch, let her. Let them _all_.

We walked up the front steps and knocked on the door. Kara greeted us excitedly, with and expression that made me sick.

She ushered us in and we joined the crowd. Right past the door there were two baskets, one full of top hats that read "The Groom's Boy's" and the other was full of crowns that read, "The Bride's Gal's".

_Lovely_. "Cute, huh?" Kara placed them on our heads and clapped her hands. "Awesome!"

Emily walked over and gave me her sympathetic smile before addressing Nessie. "Thanks so much for the chips and dip Ness! Mmm, smells fantastic!"

"Thank you! It's Esme's recipe." Nessie smiled and walked with Emily and Jake toward one of the tables set up toward the back of the large living room. _Really? Yeah, go ahead, leave me here with Kara!_

I looked around the room and saw many of the people Nessie described to me on the plane. "Thanks hun!"

I looked over and saw Kara grabbing a drink from Embry. I literally winced at the sight then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Nobody had, except the man that had his eyes on me.

"Oh! You two haven't met yet! Embry, this is Dylann, Dylann this Embry." He held his hand out to shake mine. I thought about shaking it, _I think I'll pass_.

I just smiled and nodded my head; he looked stunned at my reaction. How could he be stunned? Did he expect me to jump all over him and everything to be butterflies and rainbows? He should be happy I interacted the way I did. I didn't want to interact with him at all; he should count his blessings that I wasn't back in New York already.

"Dylann!" I heard Jake yell from across the room. I turned and smiled, forgetting my anger with him. I turned back and focused all of my attention on Kara. "I'll see you later."

I really tried to make it sound pleasant, it probably didn't though. I practically ran to Jake and Nessie, he gave me a look as if to ask, "Forgive me?"

I looked down at my feet and slightly raised and dropped my shoulders. I was still a bit mad, but that move he just pulled made it a little better. I looked up as he was turning away from me, was he mad?

I sighed and walked over to one of the tables that were lined with alcohol, something I had never tasted. Well, every now and then I had some with- I shook my head and banished the thought. I wasn't even going to dare to thing about my old life.

I looked at the man behind the bar. He looked about my age, not old enough to be tending a bar. It was one of the twins, either Collin or Bradey. He greeted me with a smile, "So you're the girl I'll be walking down the isle with?"

Bradey, then. "Yeah." He smiled and reached out his hand, which I shook. "What's your poison?"

I gave him a look that cause him to chuckle, "What do you want to drink?"

I heard a similar voice from behind me, "What do we have here?"

I turned and saw the other brother, Collin walking towards us. He bowed in front of me, making me giggle. "Nice to meet you, I'm Collin, this dumbass's brother."

I giggled again and watched him walk behind the counter with his brother, who sported a very annoyed look. Collin leaned over the table. "What can I do for you miss…?"

"Whithers, but call me Dylann." Was I a Cullen now? I stuck to using my mother's last name. "And uh, can I have… champagne?"

They looked at each other and laughed. "You want champagne?"

I felt the blood rush to my face; I didn't know the names of any other alcohol. Wasn't there one called Voka? Or maybe Whiskay? I didn't know. "Fine, give the girl some damn champagne."

Brady poured it into a red, plastic cup. "Here ya go. It's probably good to start with this."

I took a sip, it wasn't very good.

"Give me a Jack and Coke." Collin told Brady. "I need a real drink."

He gave me a sly smile. A _real_ drink? "Give me what he's having."

Brady looked uneasy while Collin egged me on with the look in his eyes. "I'm not sure you can handle it baby doll."

I scoffed. "I can handle anything you can."

He laughed and poured the same drink with more of the Coke than the Jack, what was Jack? I read the bottle, whiskey. That's it whiskey, yeah, I can handle whiskey. "No, no, no, I want it the same way you have it, don't be skimpy with the whiskey."

He laughed and did as I said. "Bottoms up." _Bottoms up?_

I smiled and took a big drink of the liquid. _Aw, that's disgusting!_ I spit it all over the wood floor. I heard the boys laugh and I mentally scolded myself: _You could have just drunk the shit!_

I heard a high-pitched laugh from behind me and turned. Kara was under Embry's arm, laughing at me. _Bitch._ I damn well downed the rest of the drink and handed it to Brady to refill, when he refused I passed it to Collin.

He looked past me to Embry and back at me, shaking his head. I sighed and went for the Coke, which Collin beat me to and moved out of my reach. I grabbed the whiskey before he could, _straight whiskey it is._ I had never tasted the stuff plain, but I knew it messed with you, made you feel loose, and I needed that now.

I filled the glass and drank it all and ignored the burn before turning to Kara and Embry, he was glaring at me. I didn't look in his eyes, instead I focused on Kara. "I see you've met my brothers. I expect they're not corrupting you at all?"

She glared at them and I laughed, "Not at all."

She laughed nervously and glanced at Embry, who was glaring at Collin and Brady. Seriously? He was gonna glare at _them?_ I laughed and shook my head, I already felt a little giddy; this stuff was fun!

"Come on guys, calm down! We're having fun!" I laughed and looked around for Jake and Nessie.

My chest still felt a little pained, but the whiskey was kicking in and smothering it out. Alcohol was the trick? Who knew? I turned around to get some more to drink, a little more and the pain would be gone.

I reached for the alcohol and was beat to it again. This time though, it was Kara. "Are you serious? I think you've had enough!"

I laughed in her face, "Don't be so dramatic, this is a party, we're supposed to be having fun!"

"You've had enough for _tonight_ Dylann!" She harshly whispered at me.

I shook my head, which made her sigh and set the bottle on the table. "Fine, but if you want to be drunk, do it somewhere else!"

She stormed away and into the kitchen. I tried to stifle a giggle, unsuccessfully. I looked at Collin and Brady; they were both chuckling, using their hands in an attempt to stop.

Embry took a step toward me. "I need to talk to you."

I think he was trying to sound harsh, but it came out low and nervous. All I wanted to do was tell him no, but my body was working against me. I agreed and followed him outside and a ways in to the forest. I guess he didn't want anyone to know he was talking to me.

_I think we're far enough, you're secret won't be exposed._ He swiftly turned and pointed at me.

"Don't do that!" He said sternly, scorning me like a child.

_Do what?_ I sent, messing with his mind a little.

"What's wrong with you Dylann?" _Because I had absolutely no reason to be a bitch to Kara, none to all._

"Oh, nothing. I'm great, and you?" Apparently alcohol also gave me the ability to openly be a bitch. Where has this miracle drink been all my life?

He rubbed his eyes and groaned. "You're messing everything up Dylann, this won't work if you act like, like…"

"Like a bitch? Go ahead Embry, say it!"

"No, just, you can't do that." He sighed and walked to me, opening his arms for a hug. _Oh hell no._

I jerked away, "Seriously?"

"I don't want to do this with you, Dylann. I care about you; I don't want you to hate me." He looked on the verge of tears.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. He put his arms around my waist and I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I don't know if it was the alcohol, or just the moment itself, but I turned my lips to his.

When our lips met, they were instantly glued. I couldn't pull away, and if the bond was anywhere near as strong for him as it was for me, he couldn't pull away either. Our lips molded together as his hands explored my back and hips.

A fire ran through us and into my soul. His tongue touched my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, taking in a breath and letting him explore. His tongue ran through my mouth, I took the opportunity to taste him. He tasted like something I had never before tasted, something wildly addicting.

His hands gripped my hips and pulled me away slowly. I looked into his eyes and saw he was looking at something in the distance. I followed his eyes and found Jake standing at the tree line.

He had a huge grin spread across his face. "So, you two?"

I smiled and turned away, maybe we were. I looked up at Embry, but he was still contently focused on Jake. I reached up and touched his cheek. His eyes ran over my face for a moment but left as his touch did.

He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. "I- I, love Kara…"

Each word tore another chunk of my heart out. I looked over at Jake who was now glaring at his friend. He walked quickly over to us and got in Embry's face. He spoke quietly, but every word was loud and clear in my ears.

"What the fuck are you doing man? You say that you love and care for them both, but then you kiss Dylann? You don't get to do this, you have to choose who you want to be with. The fucking back and forth kills her! Can't you feel that, even I can and I didn't even fucking imprint on her. You say you care for her and then you do this! You don't care for either of them or you would grow a fucking pair and make the damn decision. If you don't stop doing this to her I _will _kick your ass!" Jake paused and put his arm around my shoulder, "C'mon Dylann."

I stood frozen, what the hell? Couldn't Jake keep any word he gives me? This was complete bull shit, I was a big girl. I looked back at Embry and a saw a spectrum of emotions. Anger, surprise, confusion and sadness, just to name a few predominate ones.

I pushed myself away from Jake and walked to Embry. "He's right; you can't put me or Kara through this. You can't pretend this never happened. Since you won't make a decision I will."

I looked at the ground as a weak feeling washed over me. I didn't want to say it, but I had to. "Don't ever contact me again Embry Call. You clearly want to forget everything that happened so let me make it easy on you. It's forgotten, I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can."

By now tears were slowly falling from my eyes and when he started to reach out and speak to me I was already back by Jake. He began to put his arm around me again, but I moved away. "And you!" I pointed my finger up towards his face. "You promised you wouldn't say anything, and you told Emmett. Then you promised not to say anything to Embry, and you went ahead and did it. I felt like you were the only one I could trust and I needed that from you!"

I started backing away so I could see both of them. "I should have been able to trust both of you with everything, but I know I can't. I can't trust anyone but myself. I should have remembered that from the beginning. I shouldn't have stayed, I should have kept going. I never want to see either of you or anyone again. Just… just forget I was ever here."

I began to run away but Embry grabbed me. "We can't just forget about you, I care about you, we both do." I looked around Embry to see Jake nod his head.

"Neither of you cared enough about me to do what was right. It was my mistake for believing you did. I'm sorry I came in here and screwed everything up. I don't want this anymore." I started to walk away but I had to say one more thing, one last thing before I left forever.

"I've experienced some pretty shitty times, and interacted with the most terrible people you can imagine… But no one has ever made me feel this much pain. So congratulations and have a wonderful life."

"Dylann, wait." This time it was Jake who grabbed me.

I pushed away from him. "No, just let me go, I don't want this anymore. I just can't do this… Tell everyone I said bye."

As soon as he loosened his grip I bolted. I ran as fast as I could until I knew they weren't behind me. They were letting me go, and as much as I knew this sucked, I needed it.

I found myself at the Cullen house. It was empty and lifeless; left. I sighed and looked around. The part of me that wanted to stay with the Cullen's had clearly taken over and brought me here. I sighed at that part of me and took a deep breath.

My eyes flew wide open and my senses went on over drive. I was frozen in place, as a terrible smell filled my nostrils, something wasn't right. I knew that scent, after all my years away from it I still knew it like it was all yesterday.

I wished with everything I had in me that I was wrong, that somehow I was imagining the smell; it had been a long day. Perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me. I took another small breath and let out a whimper. My mind was working fine, the scent was definitely here. And it was much too strong for it to have been left earlier. No, it was fresh, and in fact so fresh that I knew _he_ was here.

I tried to stand strong and let him know I wasn't afraid of him, but I failed. My knees were shaking as I turned around to face him. I knew he was there but my heart still stopped when I saw his glowing red eyes.

"Aro"

**Sooo, cliffhanger! Evil I know, but I'll update soon! Please review, because it doesn't take long and it makes my day. Thank you! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Embry's POV

In a blink she was gone, her scent still lingered partially. I was stuck standing where I stood, I couldn't move. I was still absorbing the information, but my body was rejecting the truth. _She'll be back_-It told me.

I felt Jakes side bump into mine as he walked past me. "I'll clean this up."

I snapped back to reality in that moment and moved into stride with Jake. "Let me, it's my mess."

"Damn straight Embry, you've done enough. I'll go before you ruin this forever." His words wore brutal, but they were so true. I knew I had run her off, unintentionally of course, but I'd done it sub-consciously with every move I made.

"No, it has to me. I have to go get her." I started off, but Jake's arm on my shoulder pulled me back and spun me to face him.

His eyes were narrow, jaw clenched, a growl came from somewhere inside him. "Embry, she's important to all of us, part of the family. I know what she means to you, and you mean the same to her. So don't fuck this up. If you come back without her, I will personally kick your ass right before telling Kara what you've been up to. We need Dylann, in ways that you don't understand, so bring her back."

I shut my eyes and nodded. "I know Jake."

I began walking, briefing myself on what I would say to her. Somehow I knew she wasn't far from me, so I took the time to collect my thoughts, I needed this to happen smoothly, because I faced a rough path after this. I knew what I wanted, but it wasn't going to be easy to achieve.

That didn't matter though. Seeing her leave and watching her lips tell me not to contact her ripped a chunk of my chest right out. So I would make this perfect, I would win Dylann over before I lost her forever.

Dylann's POV

He looked at me with the crazy eyes I'd been doing everything to forget. The smile on his face made the whole look more eerie. "Hello Aroclese…"

I winced, _The Glory of _Aro the name meant. I refused to acknowledge that name. It took all the effort I could muster, but I managed to stand tall and hold my knees from shaking. I didn't understand how he'd found me here. With another sniff of the air I realized he wasn't alone, not that I ever thought he _would_ come alone.

I didn't respond to his awkward greeting, but glared at him through the harshest eyes I could make. He kept his lunatic expression up, the things I did never phased him.

"Not even a greeting? Did I not raise you right at all?" I growled, the memories began building up, but I refused to think of them. "How are you my child."

But that did it, like a dam breaking, the images filled every nook and cranny of my brain until it was filled with nothing but my past. As much as I tried to deny that my existence stemmed from the evil that was Aro, I couldn't. He made it impossible.

I closed my eyes and used my concentration to control myself. I had no chance against the guard, not even against Aro. I needed to get them away from here before they realized the size of the coven I'd been staying with.

Aro liked his power, and from my childhood I remembered his hatred for anyone who even had the ability to overpower him. To my knowledge, he knew nothing of the Cullen's. "How did you find me?"

He chuckled and put his hands together. "Thanks to your little scheme, I believed you dead. When we pieced Demetri back together he remembered what you'd done. After two years without any knowledge of where you were, you made a mistake."

I watched him as he slowly walked toward me. "You went back to Russia, to The Covens. From there you were tracked, very carefully. Imagine my surprise when he reported back to me after a few months and informed me that you were with the Cullen Clan."

I fought the confused look, but it broke free, causing him yet another chuckle.

"Do you not remember the Cullen's from when you were younger?" He found his way to stand before me.

"You've forgotten? The Cullen's were the very reason you were created." He reached out for my hand, but I spit in his face.

I turned away as more memories leaked into my mind. I'd heard stories of the vegetarian clan when I was a young girl. I'd been created because of their child, their hybrid. Alec had told me Aro couldn't be out done by the Cullen's. After various… _attempts,_ I was created.

He'd found me with the one clan that he felt threatened by, and I knew what he would want to do to them after he'd found me with them. I had to get the Volturi away from her as soon as possible. I had to make it easy in order to save the Cullen's. There was no better reason to leave then to keep them safe.

Arms were suddenly around my shoulders, pulling me back to face Aro. I looked up and saw Jane holding me on my left, Felix on my right. I stood rigid from the hands gripping me on my left. Jane had possessed a power so great, I'd never come across another talent so evil.

Aro grabbed my right hand, and images of memories quickly moved through my eyes into his. I watched my days with the Cullen's pass, regretting my decision to ever stay. Soon the memory of Jacob calling Embry passed, and my heart faltered.

I couldn't relive my first night here. I fought the memories, and to my amazement, they slowed. They slowed just in time for the imprint. Just in time to cause me the pain all over again. I felt myself collapse in pain that was greater than that of Jane's talent.

Aro dropped my hand when it came to the present. "Well, how …_intriguing_."

I sat on the ground, feeling the pain surging in my body. "It seems, she's been imprinted upon."

Nobody spoke, though I heard a distinct quick intake of air from behind Aro. I peeked around and saw Alec standing with perfect composure, though I knew the sound came from his lips.

Aro turned and walked to him. "Alec, you will not believe the name she took when she… left." Alec eyed me suspiciously. "Dylann."

Alec looked to Aro, and then back to me.

The name Dylann had been a character from a story Alec had told me when I was younger. He was a powerful explorer; he always went on adventures with his friend Aleise. I'd loved the stories; they'd gotten me through my time in Italy.

"I'm confused as to why you used the male's name, why not Aleise?" Aleise had been like Dylan's side kick, she was always timid and cautious. I'd wanted to be brave, gallant, adventurous, not the timid girl she was. I'd kept her with me though.

"Dylann Aleise Whithers. That's the name I've been going by for the years." Aro briefly looked offended, I assumed at my taking of my mother's name. She'd died before even my birth, but I'd gotten her name from Alec when I was a bit older.

Aro gave no comment, but circled around me once, "You have changed so much from the girl I knew you to be."

The small talk he made was infuriating. I'd rather there be fighting, better than him acting like we were old friends meeting on the street. _What do you want?_

He smiled bigger, "Yes, well, I've come to bring you back to Volterra."

I closed my eyes; the thought of leaving here to go back to Italy was painful. I had no chance against them though, no chance at all. I didn't verbalize my agreement to go, not that I needed to, my return was inevitable, no matter what I said or did.

In a breath of air I smelt him. It was potent, and beautiful, but deadly…for him.

Aro whipped his head toward the growing sound and smell, causing me to jump up. I heard a low growl as Embry emerged through the forest. He looked not at me, but at Aro and the others beside him. His guard formed a loose circle around him, protecting their master.

Embry got in an attacking position, as if he was about ready to spring on Aro, but I stepped in front of him.

I'd never seen Embry in this form, but I knew from his scent that it was him. And from the look on his face, he seemed confused at why I'd jumped before Aro. But it wasn't to protect Aro, it was to protect I _him_.

Aro walked in front of me and looked between the two of us. "So I suppose this is him then?"

Embry slightly tilted his head and looked at me.

"Curious." Aro said. He stepped a few paces away from us toward his guard. Against my better judgment I took my focus off him and looked into the big brown eyes in front of me. They were questioning.

I moved my hand to his head and scratched it. He looked as if he might pull away for a moment, but instead he slowly closed his eyes.

_I can't explain what's happening, but I want you to go back to the rehearsal, I want you to forget about me, and I want… _The words were painful, and as they crossed the distance between us, I knew they hurt him too. But no words said tonight would hurt so much as the next ones. _I want you to marry Kara._

My knees were physically shaking at these words, and I _swear_ his did the same for a moment. I rubbed his head once more before tuning quickly as to not see his eyes for I would surely falter.

I felt his nose in my back, he was going to be stubborn. Just as he did I heard Aro's words "Now."

The guard suddenly sprung to life and jumped at Embry. He tried to fight back, but with six vampires holding you down, it was just impossible. I turned to Aro, I wasn't standing for this, I would go, I would go now.

"Stop, he's leaving." I told Aro.

He smiled, "And you, my child?"

I sighed and ran my fingers through my short blonde hair. "I'm coming."

Aro lightly clapped his hands together once and smiled. Pointing his finger at me with a devilish grin he said, "I knew you would."

Embry growled from behind, a quiet whimper following. I quickly turned and saw him fighting to break free of the grasps holding him to his helpless position.

Turning back to Aro I made my conditions. "Aro. You let him go, and I'll come. You leave the Cullen's alone forever, and I come. You promise me to never even mention this place again, and I come."

"And as long as I am not given a reason to come, you have my word." With a soft gesture of his hand the guard released their captive. I ran to Embry and wrapped my arms around his throat one last time, ignoring the hiss from behind.

I released him after a moment and looked into his big brown wolf eyes. "We both have things we have to do and we've both made our choices. I have to go."

He made a noise that sounded like protesting and I shook my head lightly. _It's something I have to do. I- I lo… I have to go._

I couldn't force the words over. I turned and heard his step behind me. He growled, making me turn. His was a losing fight, and I wouldn't let him attempt it. I sprung around on him. "You won't do this. I'm leaving. Just do me this one thing and go!"

His eyes suddenly froze. He looked from me to the guard and back. He shook his head lightly.

I walked over to Aro and gave him a hopeless look. _Make him unconscious, but don't you dare hurt him._

Aro nodded and I took off. Some of the guard ran with me, some did whatever they needed to, to make Embry stay. I didn't even hear a noise, but when the rest of the guard caught up I know something had been done.

"Was he hurt?" I didn't ask in any general direction, but the response still came.

"It was painless; he'll wake in a few hours; though I'm sure one of them would have been on our trail in a few minutes." Aro said carelessly.

He said "would" because of the rain drops quickly coming down, washing away any trail that would have been followed. This encounter had obviously been too well planned for any hope I would have had of staying. This was it, I was gone now, I was gone forever.

It took all I had in me to keep the tears brimmed in my eye, though I was sure most know tears were on the verge of seeping out. Each step away was harder, but easier too. One small step for my emotional freedom, one large step for the safety of the family I was leaving.

"Don't cry Aroclese, things will be fine soon."

I doubted things would ever be remotely near fine.


End file.
